Nino Mancuso’s dark short film comedy uses an absurd premise to explore jealousy, fear, self-destruction, and, of course, paranoia inside relationships.Things start normal enough: Suzie (Angela Trimbur) and Sean head to the movies to watch a film featuring Gyllenhaal. But, slowly, Sean begins to have irrational fears about his girlfriend’s attraction to the hearthrob. And, so, Sean (played by writer Sean Wing) becomes his own worst enemy; manufacturing his own personal demise, his fear feeding on itself. In that sense, Mancuso’s film is as much about paranoia as it is about the baggage we all carry from past relationships. Of course, in order for this to work, the film needs to be funny. Fortunately, it is. Mancuso’s direction and Wing’s writing harnesses the awkwardness, peppering the intensity with some genuinely funny sight-gags. The short film perfectly blends paranoia and humor by capturing Sean’s sense of despair and doom through a comedic lens. The tone is definitely funny, but, visually, the film showcases Sean as if he’s in a legitimate psychological thriller, further highlighting the satire. Slow close-ups and the intense score add to the dramatic atmosphere and supplement Wing’s pitch-perfect performance with a subtle mix of helplessness and delirium.
