WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
The shattering of family bonds. When it is supposed to be one of the most sacred of all institutions, the resentment and personal violation caused between kin when criminal behavior comes into their midst is difficult at best to accept, much less to forget—or forgive. Yet, can the most staunch opposition to another’s activities be quelled for the sake of saving someone that’s a part of you, like it or not? For the Tavern brothers, Alex (Josh Flaherty) and Scott (Ari Flaherty), life has taken decidedly different turns. Ari, a now ex-Marine, served his country with distinction and honor only to come home and find Alex having descended into the illegal dealings of their father Christopher (Peter Gonzalez) and, to some extent, their mother.
Having already stared down the specter of one parent’s death due to said nefarious inclinations, Ari wants nothing to do with his family anymore. Yet, on one fateful day, he arrives to his home and an unexpected guest–Alex. With lack of pleasantries a foregone conclusion, Ari adamantly refuses to have anything to do with Alex, at least until word that their father is missing and could be at the mercy of business partners done wrong. Still wanting to distance himself from it all, events quickly escalate that pull Ari violently back into a world he wants no part of. However, things are note entirely as they seem, and soon, Ari decides it’s time to put an end to the criminality plaguing his family.
Next, my Mind:
There’s a certain intentionality and straightforward execution that, for this reviewer, both benefits and besets this 25-minute indie action/drama short film from co-writer/director/producers Ari and Josh Flaherty, perhaps because the effort almost feels more like a proof of concept for an ongoing T.V. series rather than a standalone film. While the basic nature of the narrative presented here is very uncomplicated and well-paced, setting up what could be a crime family saga rife with infighting, divided loyalties, and intensity of action, the story never quite feels complete, especially given the finale’s definitively open-ended delivery and plenty of unanswered questions the viewer could be left asking when it comes to the greater whole of what exactly the circumstances are behind one family’s checkered past. We get glimpses and hints about why Scott chose to not be a part of it in order to follow a straighter path, yet again, there are past events we wish to know more about, leaving us wanting a feature length film to see further reveals than having much left to conjecture. Now, should this indeed lead to future continuation of these character’s journeys, it will serve to better flesh out the details, whether in episodic form or via a full film. The visual look is clean, the action sequences are actually quite well done, despite some of it, along with the often profanity-laced dialogue delivery (continually not a favorite elements in these films), feeling a little forced and slightly overacted at times.
Ari Flaherty does his level best, successfully for the most part, to bring a realistic sense of both “Jack Reacher” bravado and dramatic flare to his role as Scott Tavern, an ex-Marine returned home to find his family in total chaos thanks to their chosen proclivities in the world of crime. Refusing to take part and simply wanting to live a peaceful life away from conflict of any sort, he is forcibly drawn into it thanks to his brother Alex, whose involvement in criminal enterprise is perhaps deeper than it even seems. Choosing to realize his only option is to try and stop the other Taverns’ from completely destroying the family name and their own lives, Scott gives indication he’s about to become a one-man army, which again we’re left to imagine what happens next. It’s a good performance if not, as mentioned above, a little overacted when trying for that emotional gravitas so needed by the reluctant hero.
Josh Flaherty is also a study in attempted emotional depth while also wanting to be that total sleaze of a character we all love to hate, and like Ari, he pulls it off well enough in his role as Alex, Scott’s younger brother whose immersion into the snare that is “the life” is already complete, as we see in the film’s initial moments where he snarls his way through an encounter with a less fortunate soul. Fully knowing his older sibling will not be happy to see him, Alex still tries to implore Scott to “join the cause” for the sake of their father, along with dredging up painful memories of their departed mother, whom we’re not totally sure was an additional perpetrator or victim of family business circumstances. Alex seems remorseless and only concerned about the fact he wants total control over things and will do anything to get it, all enacted decently throughout by Flaherty.
The primary supporting turns are given by Gonzalez as Christopher Tavern, patriarch of the Tavern clan, who has found himself in his own predicament while warning off his eldest son from doing anything rash against Alex, Zach Harrington as Peter Teal, a family friend who becomes inadvertently and painfully caught up in the dirty deeds Alex is bringing about, and Kimmy Anne Dunn as Peter’s daughter Lucy, who desires to aid Scott in his quest to right the series of wrongs taking place. Additional turns are present from Mirejah Cruz as one of Alex’s accomplices against Peter, Alfredo Rengifo as Alex’s main enforcer Alfredo, along with Joel Fredericks, Quinn McGovern, Roger Bello, Matt Sica, and Gabe Byrd. In total, “Tavern” stands as a reasonable and respectable short film effort that just needed a little more polish to bring its narrative together in a more cohesive way so as to leave us with a better sense of stand-alone finality. Now, if this is only the start of the Tavern family saga, then I know I will be interested to see and learn more about what would become this action franchise’s total intentions are.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
