That Terrible Jazz – A Short Film Review
That Terrible Jazz is a 15 minute slice of old school film-noir paying homage to the classics of the 1940’s and 50’s. This thoroughly enjoyable plot ticks all the boxes in regards to the genre and delivers a slick looking, stylish short film that doesn’t disappoint.
Sam Sellers is a Private Investigator with his own personal problems. He is contacted by the local landlord, named Nicky, from the bar he frequents, and is asked to investigate a missing saxophone player from the bars house band, Wynn Dumont. Sam decides to give up the drink (at least temporarily) and take a look into the case. After a quick discussion with Nicky, Sam is out hunting down the suspects, questioning the other band members, Dean, Dallas and Mac, Wynn’s girlfriend Betty, and the former band member Jimmy. The plot twists and turns its way through this seedy world as Sam battles to uncover the truth about what happened to Wynn. With plenty of betrayal, bitterness and bad blood along the way, leading us to a very satisfying conclusion.
This is a true homage to the classic style of film-noir. Complete in black and white the screen oozes style and atmosphere. The seedy scene locations including the bar, outside a motel, Betty’s apartment and the bands very cramped and un-kept accommodation all add to creating this perfectly crafted atmospheric piece. Even the characters themselves are dressed appropriately to the period of classic noir complete with an abundance of chain-smoking and heavy drinking. These are all small touches but do a lot to add to the overall feel of the short. Even the closing credits offer that same feel with the classic look and feel of the noir period. The tight editing and excellent lighting create the scenes and compliment the black and white presentation very well.
Writer and director Mike Falconi does an excellent job behind the camera. Being in charge of his own story usually ensures the writers vision is realized and by the outcome of this short film Falconi has a great vision, particularly in regards to this classic genre. He doesn’t spoon feed the audience either, giving us a perfect balance of the characters and uses much of the screen to give a sense of who these characters are and the world they live in. A good example of this is at the start of the movie with Sam. He receives a phone call from the landlord of a bar and they know each other well, sleeping with his clothes on, the bottle and glass on the table, we are also shown divorce papers. All of these indicate that Sam is going through a rough time without actually having to have the characters tell us.
Another part of this short that helps to set the scene and create the atmosphere is the music. Every bit in the classic noir style the music is right on note and compliments the story excellently. Earl Stepp should be congratulated for his excellent use of sound in this short, as music is every bit as important as the story itself when it comes to movies such as this. I was very impressed how accurately he managed to replicate that noir style.
Ephraim Davis plays Sam Sellers the private detective with his own demons. Ephraim is very strong in the lead role and for the most part is a good fit for this flawed investigator. His overall performance was very fitting for the investigator and really helped to suck me into this story. The only part where I felt he struggled was while dealing with scenes that I thought should have required some heightened emotion, he kept the same tone and controlled voice which didn’t seem to fit the actions on screen, this was most noticeable when he was questioning Jimmy in his motel room. During this scene I thought his required more emotion from the actor, especially when he was man-handling Jimmy.
Other cast members included the femme fatal of the short Elizabeth Alksne as Betty, Wynn’s girlfriend. Elizabeth gave us a great performance for the screentime she was given, playing the dame with something to hide. She gave us a very convincing performance especially in the final scene. The band members, Dean, Dallas and Mac come across as your generic characters, with Dean being the stand out of the three in the acting department, for the limited time he had. Dean, played by John Rifici looked like he had a solid foundation as an actor. Timothy J. Cox played Nicky, the barman. Timothy showed us a straight talking ‘man of the world’ bartender in a very believable performance. In his one scene he managed to establish himself as a memorable character. The final character worthy of a mention is Jimmy, the former saxophone player, played by David A. Rodriguez. David is excellent in his role as the former band member. He seems to stroll through his performance with ease. David certainly has ability as an actor.
This short is one of those films that come along and really grab your attention. Offering something completely different and doing so in a way that draws us in completely. Film-noir was a nice change of pace and Mike Falconi definitely knows his stuff. As well as a great story and a lot of style we are giving some very strong performances by all involved. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone looking for something, then again I would recommend it to anyone to give it a watch. It would be fifteen minutes well spent!
