Eleni Doucas’ 17-minute young-adult romance, Polaris follows Lucy and Aidan, young residents at a mental health facility, who develop a friendship that flows into a fraught romance. The leading cast, emerald green in their inexperience, convincingly pull off their characters’ by turns awkward, dramatic, and just plain sweet relationship—quintessential young romance. The pairing is classic:… Continue reading Polaris: Young Love and Its Happy, Messy, Fleeting Glories
Tag: Drama Short Film Review
The Interview: A Chaotic Drama on The Legal Kaleidoscope and the Shifts it Allows
Liam Treacy’s The Interview is a peculiar, potent eighteen-minute drama about a lawyer who wants to be hired and another lawyer who gives him the perverse skinny on how to do it. A two-character plot means that the roomy runtime is filled to the brim with tense character development that in turn illustrates the sordid… Continue reading The Interview: A Chaotic Drama on The Legal Kaleidoscope and the Shifts it Allows
Broken Castles: Implied Historical Trauma and Fresh Efforts to Outrun Them
Ginevra Gentili’s Broken Castles, written by Ryan Napier, follows the tug of war between two brothers and the opposing perspectives they cling to, living in an ancient castle which seems intent on keeping them both tied to it. There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue, replaced instead by the internal torment of younger brother Shiloh,… Continue reading Broken Castles: Implied Historical Trauma and Fresh Efforts to Outrun Them
Stall: Grief in Preparation for Unspeakable Grief in a Film on Gun Violence
Arlo Grey Gordon’s Stall is a triumph of writing in independent cinema. Shot in a single take, the 7-minute drama depicts the terror of crossing paths with American gun violence. It is keenly specific to the experience, and the camera that follows its protagonist, almost but not always to the depths of her helpless despair,… Continue reading Stall: Grief in Preparation for Unspeakable Grief in a Film on Gun Violence
Canta Santiago: Grief, Amid the Demands of Showbiz and Wages
James Valdez’s Canta Santiago is set in a restaurant and features a protagonist with a recently passed brother, so thoughts of The Bear are not totally out of place, but this is a different arena altogether. For one, the protagonist is a child. For two, he does not have room, not really, to fail. There are two… Continue reading Canta Santiago: Grief, Amid the Demands of Showbiz and Wages
Dipsomaniac: Bad Birthdays and a Bloody Becoming
Jeremy Stewart’s Dipsomaniac is a 17-minute dramedy following its protagonist’s lonely 27th birthday. His sole companion, Hal—unhinged from the word go—makes Tim and the audience wish there were zero companions. But Hal is here to stay, at least for the duration of the film. For the large part, the story takes place inside a party… Continue reading Dipsomaniac: Bad Birthdays and a Bloody Becoming
I am ______: The Production and Upkeep of Lies for the Aesthetic
James Dubbeldam’s I am __ is a 5-minute rather simplistic drama depicting three facets of the influencer figure through moments in the life of a teenage vlogger. With just a single actor within the diegesis, the film uses title cards to deliver its commentary on the well-known misrepresentations on which contemporary social media is based.… Continue reading I am ______: The Production and Upkeep of Lies for the Aesthetic
Sherbet: Rage and Tenderness Near the Finishing Line
Danny Gibbons’s Sherbet is a 26-minute journey through connections made in pits of despair, and the irreversible changes they leave in their wake. The story of a cab driver and a young passenger as they ride to the airport late at night takes the backseat in light of the film’s low-budget innovation on virtual production.… Continue reading Sherbet: Rage and Tenderness Near the Finishing Line
Second Stage: A Glimpse into a Day Transiting Through Grief
Keelay Moore James’s autobiographical Second Stage follows a woman through a day of grappling with grief as she goes through the anger stage of it. Her brother, a dogged companion, keeps steady watch over her lest her anger turn any more inwards. By the end of the day, Keelay may not have moved much further… Continue reading Second Stage: A Glimpse into a Day Transiting Through Grief
Fool’s Game: Marriage and Its Many Excesses
Laurence Roberts’s Fool’s Game takes what is already a generally stressful affair (hosting a dinner with old peers) and cranks it up a few notches. In the span of 15 minutes, the film unravels about two decades of accumulating disappointment and resentment that comes part and parcel with becoming adults in bad systems, and all… Continue reading Fool’s Game: Marriage and Its Many Excesses