A Mind Beside Itself is a 20 minute indie film that starts off as a romantic drama but quickly takes a psychological twist. Directed, written and edited by P.J. Starks, who proves making a film like this does not take a large budget and well known actors.

The film starts out with Tristan (Eric Sax) and Maya (Lori Rosas) having a drink together on a date. She catches him day dreaming and he seemingly plays it smooth by telling her he was just dreaming about her. He asks her about the book that she brought with her and she tells him it’s about a nurse who cannot figure out what is wrong with the patient she cares for. When asked how the book ends, she simply says it does not.

Some time passes and Tristan asks Maya to move in with him as they have been together for a while and everything is going well. She excitingly says yes to him. At the same time Tristan experiences many odd flashes of his future self with a family. His mind seems to be playing tricks with him.

After living together for a while, Tristan stops taking his medication and Maya warns him that is he turning into a different person. She notices he is often off in his own world and his condition is getting worse. She becomes very frustrated with him because he will not listen to her. He then angrily tells her that she has been a waste of his time but he was as quick to apologize as he was to get angry.

However, the two set their differences aside and Tristan asks Maya to marry him. Just when things are looking up for the couple again, he has another flash at the altar. The rest of this short film makes you question what is real and what is not.

Teasing us from the opening of the film with a quote from Edgar Allan Poe, “Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?” P.J. Starks quite obviously us that everything is not what it seems. A Mind Beside Itself is a well done short story film that contains good use of camera angles and solid vision. The acting is somewhat hit and miss, depending on the scene but for the most part it works. You could do plenty worse than to spend just 20 minutes of your time for this film.