NO TRAILER AVAILABLE CURRENTLY
First, the Recap:
Don’t you just love the thought of working for a manager who’s an absolute nightmare? Of course, if you take this as anything but a rhetorical question–you might want to check your state of mind at the nearest psychiatric hospital. It’s that atmosphere of calm on the surface, but underneath, you just know there’s more boiling and stewing, just waiting for the right moment to lash out. Take, for example, the CEO of Scarlett Industries, one Ms. Scarlett Coal (Audrey Noone), who appears to be having a not so productive or enjoyable day as she sits staring forward at a chart about the company’s monetary status via a financial analyst (Steven Lee Day). Oh, how irrelevant it seems.
As the meeting progresses, we begin to notice the effect Scarlett’s expanding impatience is beginning to have, through exactly how this begins to manifest becomes the mystery. Starting with a pesky fly, she captures it in midair, and then releases it’s charred body onto the table. Next, her assistant (Brooke Solomon) quietly enters the room and advises Scarlett of a pending need, which leads to the assistant being handed a key that is promptly dropped to the ground due to burning her hand. Scarlett’s strange manifestations continue onward in pouring herself a glass of water, taking it in her hand, and watching it begin to boil. The final buildup occurs via sparks from her right hand nails, much to the ultimate detriment of the finance wiz. A new analyst, please?
Next, my Mind:
So–ready to have Scarlett as your manager now? The wonder and mystery of lead actress/writer/director Audrey Noone’s amazingly abbreviated 3 minute 34 second short film is that even as you watch her character Scarlett’s escalating abilities coming forth, it still leaves the mind reeling as to exactly what or who she is and where these powers emanate from. Obviously, one could perhaps surmise she is some form of humanoid alien. Or, on an even more sinister note, is she the embodiment of that it truly means to have that boss from hell? Either way, it is ultimately left to conjecture, and as the viewer, we are likewise abandoned to our own assumptions. And again, that is the beauty of this effort.
Noone is an absolute gem here as Scarlett, especially in that the apparent, innate calmness of her attitude on the surface is so subtly, yet dramatically, contrary to the evident anger, boredom, and/or frustration she’s experiencing on the inside during the financial analysis meeting. Each and every display of enigmatic powers that materialize from within her only enhances the viewer’s engagement in her character, much less to enjoy and chuckle consistently at the effect it’s having on everyone else who comes into the path of her diabolical display. Solomon is wonderful in her brief appearance as the assistant, and Day is a complete riot as the geeky, intentionally boring analyst. In summary, “A Warming Trend” is a simple, quirky, fun, laugh-inducing film that delivers the entertainment it’s intended to produce with indie film style and ease.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
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