Let me just get something out in the open. I really enjoyed this film. From the opening scene to the unusual and sad finish, my eyes were glued to my screen. That's not to say that Nicholas J DeMicco has created something totally unique and groundbreaking, just that as a collective short, "Grafters" shows and entertains very well. When broken down, the individual aspects of the film are average in many ways. Together though, the film just works. Period. At first, as I got "Grafters" playing, I was a little underwhelmed by the technical aspects. Today's indie film is not the same as ten -or even five- years ago. For a film to shine technically now days it really needs something special. So, as this one opened I quickly formulated what I had in mind for the technical section of this write up. Then something happened. I forgot all about my limited technical ideas of what's what - and simply watched. Next thing I knew, the film was over. In hindsight, the cinematography of the movie was simply put... fitting. Here, the camera work wasn't designed to show off what a person "could" do with a camera, rather what would push along the narrative, and add to the pacing. Add to this a nice, slick edit and visually "Grafters" ended up playing like a hot knife through butter. Throw some good character portrayals into the pot and as I wrote above, I really enjoyed this movie. "Grafters" also scores well above average using what I call the "indie sound rating" system. Most indies mainly suffer in the audio department, over and over and over it's always the audio that brings an indie flick down. With "Grafters", although not perfect, the audio was pretty damn good for an independent production. Clear and easy to understand dialog, and a good score used just right. Wrapping it all up, on the technical level, this short would feel right at home playing into your living room. No problems and no complaints. There you have it. "Grafters" easily earns it's solid score and I would highly recommend it anyone looking for a fresh take on a familiar genre. Although nothing terribly new, it's done well, written well and acted well. These are characters that on some level most of us can relate to, understand and even like or dis-like. What we do for money, what we desire and the old "cause and effect," all play their respective roles nicely. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see some of these characters heading to a screen near you, as a feature of some sorts. It's all here and waiting. Excellent job on an excellent short. -JT