Published in: Short Film Reviews

Short Film Review “The Cold Season”

Author OneFilmFan

Published on: April 23, 2019

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

First, the Recap:

Holding on to unsettled circumstances past and the burden of needing to unload their associated elements that have weighed us down for far too long. It’s a consistent struggle we face, whether subtle in magnitude or thunderously rumbling within our souls. When bygone choice has yielded an inner turmoil yet to be laid to rest, what actions are we willing to take to seek desperately sought stillness within? The cold early winter winds blow hard against a sleeping bag and the man found in its warmth named Len Povey (John Wells). Homeless, facing another day of engaging in a chosen pastime, and satisfying hunger pangs via a minor bit of cherished goodwill from a local restaurant, true contentment remains elusive.

However, Len’s day takes an abrupt turn upon being approached by an old nemesis in now ex-cop Ivan Garrety (Tim Ross), who had his chances to take down Len many years back, but lost the initiative, allowing his quarry to escape. Thinking it’s the end of the road, Len suddenly finds Ivan wanting to sit in the diner and chat about former days and decisions made that so heavily impacted both of their lives, whether for good or ill. Even as Len’s agitated and dubious state of being about Ivan’s endgame kicks into high gear, the other man’s calm, collected, matter-of-fact demeanor breaching the ultimate subject they speak of leads to a jarring conclusion that paints an entirely different portrait of those events now long gone.

Next, my Mind:

This newest 10-minute short film effort from director/producer/cinematographer/editor Josiah Stendel brings to the table a beautifully orchestrated, visually well-executed, character-centric, narrative-driven, palpably tension-filled presentation and tone that deftly hits on all cylinders from start to finish. Taking the viewer on an odyssey involving two men’s connected journey, the tie that binds their fates together, the potency of being reminded of bygone actions, and facing the realities of the ripples it all caused that have since shaped every moment for each, this converging of their paths is intensely volatile, filled with deep emotions, evident regrets, and strong notions about what happened those many years ago, yet equally melancholy and subdued as the two former adversaries contemplate what the unfolding encounter they now share shall mean for their respective futures.

It all frankly reminded me a great deal of the general stylings found in the eternally classic café sequence from director Michael Mann’s equally timeless crime drama “Heat”, where the law and the lawless face off in a simmering yet totally calm tete a tete that speaks volumes through words both veiled and transparent. In this film’s finale however, which is sublimely delivered, the end result of these character’s conversation is assuredly unforeseen and provides a suitably jarring finishing point that likewise speaks volumes about the weight of choices, the influence of circumstances, and living with the consequences which will forever impact our minds and souls while addressing the simple truth that what things appear to be on the surface can most definitely be decieving. The film carries a crisp, professional visual look with a starkness that befits the precise events being depicted. Added to that is an impeccably apropos, constantly building, highly emotive music score from Jacqueline S. Boothe that works fluidly in tandem with each scene, highlighting the underlying emotional turmoil we see and feel.

Wells embodies the image of a soul torn by hidden guilt with quiet, understated, but burning gravity in his role as Povey, a man now living on the streets whom we had to believe had it much better once. Now ruggedly tough from surviving on the streets in the wake of whatever incidents put him on them, he ekes out an existence that seems miserable, yet made tolerable, or at least enough to know life is still worth hanging on to. His world gets shaken again when an unexpected visitor drops in on him while gaining a daily charity meal. Thinking the jig is up after so many years have past, Povey is then taken aback more when this former cop whom he’d had run-ins with prior offers to sit down and talk over their history in a series of moments that cause Povey to believe it’s all just a means to “butter him up” before being taken away to prison, given his apparent criminal background. But as the two converse amidst Povey’s growing unrest, things take a turn and suddenly, what will actually transpire is in question. It’s a performance built on subtlety and controlled energy, and Wells totally nails it with acute skill and realism.

With a similar need to bring forth a manner that reflects unflustered ease outwardly but still contains a sense of inner fire and even unresolved aggression, Ross exudes these facets of being in that state of being with believable savvy as Garrety, an ex-cop with one last agenda left problematic and unresolved. Given some initially undisclosed events from his background and career that continue to haunt him, Garrety finds the ideal “out” in tracking down and choosing to confront the one man whom he had failed to successfully arrest, treating him to a sit down at the local diner and expounding on their previous encounter many moons ago which sent both of them down diverging paths, both literally and inwardly. Now as time has passed by, Garrety’s need to dredge it all up again creates a tangibly tense air between them that carries both menace and forlornness. Fully taking advantage of this evident “edge” he has on Povey, Garrety still finds a way to maintain an overall magnanimous disposition, even at the height of tension between then, and when the endgame arrives, it’s poignant and shocking, marvelously enacted by Ross.

Supporting roles arrive here from Silvio Wolf Busch as Detective Miller with whom Garrety is collaborating with on hunting down Povey and advising where they will be for the necessary apprehension to occur, along with Nate Merritt and Dustin Bowman as fellow officers, and Cory Zigmund as the diner’s short order cook. In total, “The Cold Season” is indie short film character drama done right, giving is the straightforward yet impactful narrative and development of story efficiently and with focused, engaging intent so that we’re drawn in, picked up, and then hit with an outcome that elicits the exact reactions the filmmaker intended while also giving us life lessons to ponder along the way.

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