Published in: Short Film Reviews

Short Film Review “Cause and Effect”

Author OneFilmFan

Published on: September 11, 2016

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

First, the Recap:

When made in the heat of conflict, verbal or otherwise, decisions can have more than a profound impact on not only your own life, but on others’ as well. How much weight does it carry to have the burden of knowledge you are responsible for negative outcomes effecting innocent lives forever? Brandon (Christopher G. Pike) now shoulders such culpability as he staggers in pain from the cold waters his vehicle has just plummeted into. Coming off a severe fight with now-former girlfriend Sandra (Madeleine McKenzie), a drunken stupor combined with getting behind the wheel has yielded a horrific collision with another vehicle. Dazed, in a haze of agony and confusion, Brandon stumbles into the night.

Five friends–Dana (Chara Victoria Gannett), Greg (Curtis Reid), Kate (Anna Rizzo), Tim (Edward Patrick), and Aleksa (Valerie Hines)–pull into their residence from a night out and settle in for the evening via drinks, casual conversation, and simple relaxation while watching the local news. Then, the head anchorman (Paul J. Held) begins coverage about the accident that has taken place involving two vehicles on the outskirts of town. Intrigued by the story, the friends all gather in the living room and take in the unfolding and sorrowful details. Shocked by this newest incident, as others have happened in the area recently, little do they or Brandon know the actuality of the situation at hand, until Brandon’s revelatory realization about his state of being and that of those five friends changes everything.

Next, my Mind:

With its decidedly sobering, dark, edgy premise and a finale that will leave your jaw on the floor, writer/director/producer/editor/actor Curtis Reid’s 36-minute short film paints an all-too-vivid and profound visual tapestry about the aftermath of faulty logic and trying to be sane when the mind and emotions are running far too high to be so. Stark cinematography follows the events with steadiness and total intent, immersing the viewer fully into a world of chaos personified as all the characters involved deal with the events in their own way, involuntarily or not, with one perspective encountered being fear, regret, suffering, and facing the truth, while for the others it is simple, plain unbelief at circumstances occurring and concern for those encompassed by them.

Pike’s performance as Brandon is affecting and sincere, even moreso demonstrated during the film’s second act, as the intense level of emotional turmoil and awareness of what is happening truly sinks in for the character with startling clarity, and whose reaction to this is very well emoted by Pike. Then it is left to the excellently chosen ensemble group who make up the five friends also drawn into the story’s forlorn happenings, each of whom exude a varying and apropos level of understanding, concern, and engagement with it all, yet ultimately all come together as one unit with the film’s monumental conclusion. Add solid supporting turns from Held, McKenzie, Natasha Darius, and Nicholas Magrey (voice only), it’s a wrap.

Overall, “Cause and Effect” is a potent, emotionally visceral short film that has chosen to illustrate important themes with its gut-punch realism and heartrending take on facing fallout from bad decisions. Let’s honestly hope this film has the impact this reviewer believes its supposed to have on viewers in the way it speaks to the messages it provides.

As always, this is all for your consideration and comment.  Until next time, thank you for reading!