directed by:
Ace Patel written by: Anthony Hall genre: Thriller |
The line between the good guys and bad guys has always had the potential to be a blurry one. The greater good argument comes to mind, as does the very nature of some professions themselves. Take law enforcement as a prime example - a profession that should exemplify the best of the best of us. We all know, through recent events, that the ideal is far greater than the reality - but does an evil person start out as evil? Or do good intentions and the greater good argument slowly seep in over time? That's the real question. Just what does it take to push a generally good person over the edge? To make them crazy enough to themselves, become the spitting image of those they hunt?
Any or all of what I wrote above could be considered the back story for this film. "Last Words" opens with all the information you'll need for the rest of the movie, a-la a newsreel voice over, and some law enforcement styled footage. We then cut to our main character, in what at first seems to be self-isolation - and find he's on those last precarious steps of sanity. We've learned of a missing cop and quickly decide that he may be our leading character. But is he actually? "Last Words" attempts to play with the notion of who this man really is - but it doesn't take long for us to know the answer to that. Not long at all. The rest of this film, until its climactic final segment, is spent playing with the notion of sanity. Good Vs bad, consequences, and repercussions. For a film so short, there's a lot here - and save the mysteries, or lack of, regarding our main character - this film glides from start to finish. Written by Anthony Hall and directed by Ace Patel, "Last Words" has a surprisingly large amount of awesome packed into its short length. But for all the good, there were a few slight issues I had with the presentation. Not the visuals, or even the story... but the decision on what to show us viewers - and when. Very, very quickly we know exactly what is what, and any thrill of discovery is quickly removed... mostly. I will say that at the very end, I was a little surprised at just who was in the room the whole time, but so much more could have been achieved with a more delicate pace of discovery.
Don't get me wrong reader, this was still a great short film to watch unfold - thank in no small part to an excellent performance and breakneck edit. The already quick run time of this film felt about half it's actual length. I should also point out that I loved the use of colored lights to help add interest to an otherwise boring room. The projector was a great asset as well. "Last Words" looks really damn cool. No question about that. At the end of the day? Due to how quick this movie is, there's not a lot I can write about this flick without giving the whole thing away. "Last Words" may not be the quintessential thriller, but it does the trick and looks pretty nice doing it. It's paced excellently, features a great performance, and yes reader... you can actually hear and understand the dialog. For anyone looking to kill a quick few minutes, I would recommend this flick for sure. Well done, three and a half stars. |
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