Short Film Review: Broken

I never really got into watching short films or independent films, those outside of the theaters. It is not that I was going out of my way to avoid them or anything like that, it was just that I never took the time to really look for them. That changed recently. An independent fan film called Star Wars: Revelations was making the rounds, and had pretty good word surrounding it. So I tracked it down and watched it, and was terribly impressed. It clearly had a low budget and it showed, but it also showed me something else. It had so much heart and energy that the viewer, me at least, is willing to overlook it's shortcomings. Seems like a strange way to be an odd way of starting a review for a completely different film, but I have a point, sort of.

Recently another independent film was brought to my attention, Broken. This is a near 20 minute short film from director Alex Ferrari. An action short which goes a long way to prove that you do not need a multi-million dollar budget to craft an exciting action sequence. And that is what the short really boils down to, an exciting action sequence.

The story seems like it was a small segment taken out of a larger vision. The short running time does not really allow us to get to know any of the characters all that well. But what is there is terribly intriguing in a creepy sort of way.

We open with a gunshot and a young woman sitting bolt upright in bed with a gasp. It moves quickly, and she is soon kidnapped by a mysterious figure with a harmonica. She wakes up in a warehouse type of building tied to a chair and surrounded by said harmonica man and his group of cronies. We are led to believe that there is a reason why she was singled out, why this guy, who is named Duncan, wants her so bad. While he is talking, a mysterious figure dressed in black, and well armed, is sneaking into the facility. Back to the questioning, he speaks of the wonders of the harmonica, and how broken things can easily be replaced. There is talk of wanting to see something out of her, she is getting angrier, her eyes turn blue, that's it. There is something not quite normal about her, and this was the reveal. Shortly after the reveal, the man in black opens fire on the gathering. This leads to another conversation, from the not dead Duncan, the girl (named Bonnie), and the man in black, Christian, who can be identified as her boyfriend from pictures earlier on. This all spirals into the stunning conclusion which provides an ending I did not see coming, but definitely left me wanting more.

This is a very impressive piece of work. Crafted on the miniscule budget of $8000, we get an entire set piece of near feature quality. Granted, the story doesn't really have a beginning or an end, only a portion of a middle, I feel that enough is revealed for the more creative of us out here can give it a true beginning and ending. Maybe one day we will be able to see what the entire story is, I read the this is currently in development as a feature film project.

Alex Ferrari has done a fine job, at not only giving us an intriguing story nugget, but also in creating an atmosphere. There is a very palpable sense of eerie dread emanating from it. The partially lit set to the silent gathering of disparate individuals, and mainly from the performance of our main bad guy. Duncan (Paul Gordon) does not seem like a very nice guy, well dressed, soft spoken, and sporting a nasty scar on his face, he just reeks with bad mojo, plus his final appearance with the snarky knowing grin, I just wanted to punch him. The acting on the whole is pretty good, Samantha Poley (Bonnie) does a fine job as well giving the character some small nuances helping make seem real, my favorite moment with her character is when the man in black speaks, there is a quick cut to her reaction as she recognizes and attempts to place the voice. Sadly, we don't get much from the most of the cronies scattered about the room, save for a woman, Marquez (Amber Crawford) who seems to be a little closer to the goings on, perhaps even jealous of our heroine? The characters and the potential backgrounds and futures are terribly intriguing.

It is shot well, it is exciting, never lack of motion. The makeup effects are good, a nice touch of gore during the shootout, and a tense confrontation between Duncan and Christian, while Bonnie tries to figure out just what is going on. And possibly the most important telling line of the piece: "It was never your life to begin with." Certainly makes me want to know more.

Also, upon exploring the website, www.whatisbroken.com, I found something very interesting. A series of short behind the scenes type video clips. These were really interesting to watch, they are very brief, but worth the time spent. They include a look at the composite shots, what the raw footage looked like and the transformation it undergoes for the final product, as well as storyboard comparisons, and a look at the creation of a fake tattoo. These added a nice touch to the site and are good to check out after watching the film.

Bottomline. If you like action, check this out. An intriguing setup with convincing acting, and convincing effects to create the firefight. You won't be disappointed when watching this, but perhaps you will when it is all over, when you realize that you want more when it is all done! And if anyone knows what song that is that is used over the end credits and on the web docs, let me know!

Recommended.

Be sure to visit www.whatisbroken.com for more information. In addition to the the brief docs, there is also a trailer, behind the scenes stills, film stills, wallpapers, and more.

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