(SHORT)
Rating:
Director: Douglas Horn
Producers: Melissa Guzman, Douglas Horn
Writer: Douglas Horn
Director of Photography: Clay Westervelt
Cast: Karl Bury, Branden Morgan, Light Wilder, Ron Gilbert
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BACK
UP, PLEASE (SHORT) Rating: Director: Douglas Horn Producers: Melissa Guzman, Douglas Horn Writer: Douglas Horn Director of Photography: Clay Westervelt Cast: Karl Bury, Branden Morgan, Light Wilder, Ron Gilbert |
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Review by: Warren
Curry
2/8/03
Having just viewed writer/director Douglas Horn's new short, Back Up, Please for the second time as I sit down to write this review, I'm doing my best to keep the hyperbole machine in check. Horn's vast talent has already been on display in his previous short, the superb satire Trailer: The Movie!, but those expecting another foray into the land of comedy would be best advised to brace themselves for a shock. Building up about as much drama and tension as 12 minutes of celluloid could possibly contain -- yet in a deceptively subtle way -- Back Up, Please resounds with the jolt of a thunder clap on an otherwise serene day.
Opening with a great Steadicam shot, which lays the groundwork for the ultimate turmoil and confusion to follow, we are introduced to a bankrupt building contractor named Tim (Karl Bury), who is in the midst of a meeting with a potential employer, Martin (Ron Gilbert). When Martin hands Tim the keys to his new Mercedes and the two men drive out of an office parking lot, it appears that the man's financial salvation is coming into clear focus.
Unsuspectingly traveling toward the men are Will (Branden Morgan) and Jana (Light Wilder), a young couple, who are on their way to a meeting with an obstetrician. Jana's bulging stomach indicates a woman due to give birth shortly, and Will's on edge demeanor exposes a person battling to stay composed in the face of the demands a new addition to the family will bring.
The two cars eventually meet in a construction area of a residential street that doesn't allow enough room for both vehicles to travel the stretch of road simultaneously. The cars settle into a standoff, but neither driver will budge, each imploring, and expecting, their counterpart to make the necessary concession. Anyone's who ever been in a volatile situation while behind the wheel of an automobile can predict that this confrontation will only escalate.
What is it about driving a vehicle that awakens the ill-tempered reactionary in all of us? Horn could not have chosen a more fitting setting for this examination of human beings' inability to behave rationally when a personal agenda is immediately at stake. The characters' needs are easy to relate to and so is the situation, which is why the central dilemma is so compelling. It's astounding to think of the potential danger people will put themselves in, and the total disregard we often have for others, while behind the wheel, and the film's treatment of this issue can also be seen as a metaphor for a variety of other situations where better judgment can quickly go out the door. The parallel action of the two separate car rides gradually layers the drama until arriving at the eventual conflict.
The movie was shot on 24p High Definition video and the cinematography is gorgeous. This format certainly does a better job of mimicking the look of film than (by what is now) the familiar mini DV image. I won't speculate about this film's budget, but suffice it to say that every penny was well spent, as the Steadicam work and crane shots create a full-bodied visual landscape. Horn's command of this material is obvious, and he gets consistent, contained performances from all of his actors.
The film's ending will probably anger many, but the lack of resolution is this movie's proper resolution. The aftermath isn't the point -- the psychology behind what creates the situation is what's important and an attempt to tack on a traditional ending would've betrayed this focus. From a writing perspective, it's a daring move on Horn's part, but also an honest one and, most importantly, the correct one. My one problem with the ending of the climactic scene is the use of the score. It embellishes the action a bit too much, and unfortunately reduces the realism by a few notches. In that particular moment, the images do not need any further enhancement.
Back Up, Please will trigger the type of discussion that is right at home at film festival Q&A sessions. With two impressive, and very different, shorts under his belt, Douglas Horn has made it evident that he possesses all the tools necessary to show off his considerable skills on a much larger stage. Regardless of what the future may hold, Back Up, Please is certainly a grand achievement all on its own.
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