Liquor Bank: Misery Hates No-Nonsense Company in Alcoholism Drama

Marcellus Cox’s Liquor Bank is a tense drama about a young ex-Marine’s relapse into alcoholism a hair’s breadth away from his one-year mark of sobriety. An unlikeable character, it is his distaste for the pain of living that both makes him identifiable and renders him a bit too obstinate at times. Like Nadia Vulvokov once said, it is his bad attitude that keeps him young.  

The 15-minute plot showcases his relationship with his sponsor, Baker (Sean Alexander James), on a morning when Eddie (Antwone Barnes) teeters on the verge of a slow-burn disaster. The phone has been ringing, there are bottles everywhere, and the hangover does not look kind—it is only the insistent phone that imbues the other two with the possibility of being the markers of a relapse. It means someone cares that Eddie is not answering, and that he is supposed to answer. The film really develops the story along these lines: the pain of living, and those who help you through it. For Eddie, it is Baker. And James almost single-handedly carries the film with his lived-in, composed performance. It allows Eddie’s wretchedness to run wild, showing us how much he suffers, and how far Baker is ready to go to keep him from going over the edge.

The film uses steady camerawork for most of the film to build up to a perilous crisis point that tests Baker’s steadfastness and Eddie’s impulse for self-sabotage. Set inside the confines of the latter’s flat, it makes the characters feel outsized, thereby constructing a delicately balanced boat where any upset carries the threat of suffocating you. Even the yellow walls seem to nudge you towards a sickly feeling. 

It is no wonder then, that despite few redeeming qualities showing up in the plot, Eddie’s suffering feels understandable. Liquor Bank stages a moment for Eddie that is as transformative as it is revelatory for his relationship with Baker. Through it, he discovers not so much an end to suffering, but a reason to power through the worst of it. 

Watch Liquor Bank Short Film Trailer