WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
What is done in secret shall remain hidden–right? It’s a decidedly unsettling notion to know that there are actions taking place every day in this world, veiled from our eyes, that would most likely cause our skin to crawl, a cry for justice to come forth, and reveal an ever-growing and necessary acknowledgement that change, no, transformation needs to come about. Maybe that’s why such deeds, when exposed, can ultimately, ideally, lead to precisely that. For a young boy named Mitchell (Gino Aiello), his life in St. Frans Orphanage is anything but good. Even as he presses into the camaraderie of his friends Andy (Dazarion Wellman) and Cody (Tyler Kilburn), his concern is focused on the residence’s matron (Susan M. Martin) and the ominous presence she represents in their lives.
Next, my Mind:
Admittedly, after a fantastic run of reviewing Oscar-level short films for a nice long spell that carried through the last month of 2022 and into the first week of 2023, there is something deeply cathartic about a return to the grass roots indie filmmaking arena, much less to have connected with another artist in this critic’s home State of Ohio, thanks to this new, just over 8-minute short from writer/director/producer Cyrus L. Richardson and associate producer Ben Green that paints a fully sobering, awareness-raising, emphatically impactful portrait of an all-too-real issue in a world torn by so much injustice, overt polarization, and strife. What’s actually beautiful about this is more in how the subject matter is addressed and the context in which it gets depicted, as it’s the style of jarring reality that’s SO necessary to KEEP this topic in people’s minds, not because we have any desire in itself to DWELL on it, but more acknowledge it and likewise be SOME part of ensuring that it gets eradicated from existence. Utterly. Completely. Absolutely.
Utilizing a core setting for the events that very much, granted on a much smaller scale, reminded me of the indie feature film “Spotlight” from 2015, this narrative sees the trials and travails of a young boy and his friends at an orphanage who are living under the shadow of the facility’s menacing matron and the subsequent ramifications of thinly veiled dark deeds occurring that will get brought to desperately required light. There’s a small but fully relevant parallel I draw to the Oscar shortlisted effort “Ivalu” here as well, and for me anyway, it allows this project to hit home with an equal amount of unswerving, resolute, and unflinchingly straightforward, highly persuasive potency. Again, it is sadly requisite in order to further actions associated with ongoing campaigns to keep exposing and eliminating this harsh, shocking, and disheartening actuality being conveyed, even MORE so in its involvement within religious organizations that shed a severely unflattering image of faith and what REAL love and compassion to others is SUPPOSED to be.
And make no mistake, there very much IS an underlying foundation of God, faith, and need for REAL TRUTH on display throughout the film, but is purposefully “muted” in a way but NOT remotely downplayed, misrepresented, or absent from the proceedings in order to deftly showcase the larger primary focus of the narrative and the poignant verity of how dire actions and choices, no matter HOW long one might think they’ve gotten away with it, WILL come back to haunt you and that, quite simply, there IS a price to pay for decisions that so painfully harm others, especially children. Based on this, the thematic pathways the film takes delve into the masks we wear, the hurts we hide, what we bury within and then take out on others, seeming but calculated “benevolence” that further misdirects us from what’s actually happening, the harrowing, crippling effect of forced silence, the fortitude of others to stand up for us in time of need AND simply for what’s RIGHT, and the stringent denial when confronted with and facing our sins.
Honestly, this is also a lesson IN just how much we as the human race need to get seriously reconnected to a moral center, as the sheer fact that what is portrayed in this film (among a host of others I’ve seen about this subject over the years) HAS been and STILL IS in practice should make us sick and WANT to see it end rather than JUST realizing how devastating it is but then moving on without discovering those means to be a part of DOING something about it in SOME form. As mentioned earlier, it’s why I applaud filmmakers for maintaining the perception that it is IMPERATIVE to GET THE MESSAGE OUT. Period. This is therefore what makes the film’s final act and actual finale gratifying in that it both satisfies the need for uprightness to be gained as well as still allowing the proper magnitude of intentionality to sink into your mind for immediate and future consideration. At this point you’ve assuredly gleaned what the film is ultimately about, but I still wished to remain somewhat “hazy” so when you SEE it, it strikes you as it is meant to.
While I must be transparent that, in general terms, there was some shakiness in the delivery and flow of the dialogue during certain scenes, just a touch “broken”, that for me is a small thing when it comes to the weight of the objective this film is getting across through the actors and the stalwart, impassioned efforts they made to infuse the characters with the necessary levels of emotional intensity needed. Martin assuredly made a solid presence on screen through her pivotal role as the Matron, headmistress at a small orphanage where she more than makes her authority known to the hapless trio of children she’s currently residing over. Using menace, evident impatience. and dare we say, direct animosity towards them that belies the grander nature of the position she holds, there is an even gloomier secret she is a part of instigating that becomes the target of her ward’s search for answers and the uncovering of a darkness currently prevailing that could turn the tables on her while also saving the sanctity of the pure innocence being trod upon.
Martin unequivocally elicits that “love to hate” reaction from you as a viewer towards the Matron through her performance, which is totally apropos to the part and a credit to Martin’s acting efforts as a whole. John Capocci arrives via his role as the Head Administrator at the facility, a man who has a level head on his shoulders and desires to run both a tight ship and create an atmosphere that’s positive and filled with love towards the children yet doesn’t have a notion about what has been going on right under his nose until others take the steps to open his eyes. Aiello is understated and so heartbreakingly believable as Mitchell, a picture of childhood’s virtue and a steadfastness that is marred by troubled and involuntarily imposed reticence that urgently needs to be transformed for his own sanity and safety. It’s one of those subtle yet affectingly powerful performances that I always appreciate with actors of such a young age.
Additional and key supporting appearances are made by Wellman and Kilburn as Mitchell’s devoted and dependable friends Andy and Cody who likewise are utterly tired of being mistreated by the Matron and hatch a plan to stop it that ends up becoming much more than it first seems. So, in total, “Scent Of A Sinner” is a well thought through, decently executed, wholly stirring indie short film that deserves to be seen alone for the deliberately soul-rousing, compellingly convincing themes it addresses, a testament to filmmakers who don’t JUST want to make a statement, but prompt response, promote change, and ideally SEE that transformation of hearts and minds come to pass for the benefit of everyone and then for the CEASING of acts that should NOT be allowed to continue.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
Film can be watched at http://www.cyfly.com