Denial – A Short Film Review
Clocking in at under three minutes this micro short is an easy watch, fun and entertaining despite one or two slight issues.
What’s It All About?
Just another day in the lives of one happily(?) married couple
My Opinion
Not only did Misti Dawn Garritano write this short, she also donned several hats during the film, including starring in it. In terms of writing, Misti has done an excellent job crafting out a script to fit such a small runtime. The short has one story to tell and it does it well. It doesn’t try to do too much which is to its benefit. A clever story that builds up for two minutes before delivering the punchline in the final few moments. I really enjoyed the tale being told.
Clever camera work is used to disguise the fact that the wife is pregnant. Using angles to obscure the view of the audience of placing objects in front of the wife to hide her bump.These tricks are used to great effect to deceive the audience. It doesn’t detract from the short at all and you don’t see it coming. It was very well done.
Overall the short was framed very well. Garritano, who co-directed with Mackenzie Leigh Barmen, have delivered a visually pleasing short. As this was filmed inside a real house, getting the perfect shot is not easy as conditions can be cramped and awkward but we are served with some visually interesting shots that do a great job of telling the story. The camera follows the actors around the house with OTS shots that made me feel as though it was almost a Reality TV show. The ‘shakey hand cam’ which normally does not bode well with me actually really does the job here. The shots are generally vibrant and colourful making this visually interesting and pleasing to the eye. The editing was generally sharp and fast which helped to move the story along at a quick pace but I felt as though one or two of the cuts we a little rough.
I thoroughly enjoyed the score which was composed by Misti Dawn Garritano and performed by Tessa Dolce. This joyful piece of music helps to tell the story, reacting to the actions that are taking place onscreen. Such a clever piece of music that I felt worked really well. It gave the short that something extra.
The reveal was a little clunky. I felt as though the reveal would have worked better showing John panicking over the pregnancy tests, before revealing the wife’s bump. I feel as if this would have given more of an impact and the bump was explaining the bewilderment over the pregnancy test results, rather that the other way around.
I felt the two stars in the short didn’t have a lot of chemistry onscreen. While Cox and Garritano both put in solid performances, I didn’t buy them as a married couple. I am not sure if this was because there was simply not enough screen-time to develop a relationship between the two characters. At under three minutes, it is hard enough to tell a story, let alone develop a relationship between to characters that the audience will buy. Also, the pair don’t share a lot of screen time together. However, I just wasn’t buying a romantic connection between the two.
Notable Performances
Misti Dawn Garritano plays the wife. Misti is certainly a woman of many talents taking on multiple duties for the short, including composing the excellent score. Her performance was equally successful as the eye rolling-wife. Her physical acting really impressed as it came across very natural.
Timothy J. Cox plays the husband John. Cox puts in a good shift in this film. Being extremely short on time means that screen time for any of the actors is at a minimum. However, Cox proves he is a reliable hand and puts in a solid performance his reaction as he weighs up the pregnancy test results is comical, even if it is a little over the top, it all adds to the fun nature of the short.
The Verdict
Denial is a very entertaining and witty short. A Solid, fun story that keeps a great pace and some strong performances by its cast all held together by a fantastic score. A lack of chemistry and a slightly awkward reveal does not dampen a well done and entertaining short.
