Now you can look at this film in two ways: as a standalone short, or an extension of Khalid's album by the same name.
As it's own project, it's half-baked, rushed and falls flat in the last ten minutes or so. It has plenty going for it, too, but everything good about it is much better in conjunction with the album.
If you choose to view it as a bonus, a huge weight is lifted off the film and you don't expect it to be anything more and you have a better time watching. As a visual prelude (what it was meant to be),it is very much in theme with Khalid's beautiful, melancholic, atmospheric sophomore album and it inherits those qualities, recreating (albeit diluted) much of the same vibe, mood and feelings that Khalid was going for. The album and (even more so) the movie feed off of each other and they become more than the sum of their parts.
Either way it's worth watching but don't expect too much.
- M.