Dark Romance – A Short Film Review
This dark and twisted tale is nothing we haven’t seen before but Ross and Matthew Mahler manage to tell it in a mere seven minutes and do it to a high standard.
What’s It All About
Advertising executive Tim Cooper is hardworking, driven and successful, but is also extremely kind-hearted and well liked, especially by his loyal secretary Tiffany. Tim begins to receive cards and gifts from a secret admirer, but very quickly those gifts take a turn for the very dark and twisted.
My Opinion
Although this story is one we have seen many times before and is as old as the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ played referred to in the short, this film manages to tell it in seven minutes. Not only that, they do an excellent job of it too. We get a few twists and turns, enough to keep us interested in where the story is going and what is going to happen next. The story keeps things focused and fast-paced, never wonders far which means we can solely concentrate on the matter at hand.
The story was written by Ross and Matthew Mahler, who give us a fantastic little story arc that is very well-paced and has a great conclusion. Within this time frame they are able to establish our set of characters and get the audience invested in them, before raising the levels of drama as we go full throttle towards the finale. The story makes great use of some dark humor throughout the short and works very well.
Matthew Mahler directed and edited the short. He brought his story to life with an excellent cast that really put everything into their characters, insuring we are invested in them. I loved the fast-paced style, giving us title cards for each day really helped to move the story along. I thought this was a good way to make rapid progression towards the end. It’s these little extra touches that made me enjoy this film so much more. We are given some excellent shots using very obscure angles throughout that makes this short quirky enough to stand out and visually very interesting. One of my favorites being the shot from inside the brown paper envelop that has Tim and Cam peering into it.
The only thing that I have to say that was a negative is an issue I had with the camera. This short suffers from shakey-camera shots at times. Being a short film it does have budget restrictions but in my opinion the shakey-camera just takes something away from the audience watching. This short was part of the 48 hour project so the crew have been really up against a deadline and retakes will have been at a minimum. I think everyone will agree this is pretty impressive for a 48 hour turnaround.
Notable Performances
Timothy J. Cox played Tim Cooper. Timothy did a marvelous job at playing the kind-hearted advertising executive, giving a superb performance. His character is immediately likable with an infectious personality. Timothy really gets to flex his acting muscles in the final third as the plot takes a dark turn. A standout performance from Timothy.
Cameron Rankin played Cam, Tim’s colleague. Cam was another great character and Cameron played him very well. His personality was definitely a lot more dry than Tim’s which made for a great chemistry to watch on-screen. Cameron’s performance was well-suited to this character and got the privilige of closing the short with a fantastic line.
Tiffany Browne-Tavarez played Tiffany, the secretary. Tiffany gives us brilliant turn with her role. She begins very sweetly and comes across as a very likable and pleasant character, even if she is slightly obsessed with Tim. However her character takes a turn in the final third of the movie and Tiffany really gets to sink her teeth into the part and really makes the most of it. Another great performance.
The Verdict
This short was very enjoyable to watch. A great cast put everything into this strong script. Led by some solid direction this movie created by Ross Ross and Matthew Mahler is one I recommend. Although there are one or two shakey-camera moments it is a solid effort and doesn’t take anything away from what is a modern retelling of an age-old story.
