wthompso-579-300322

Death of a Wizard (2012)

Now THIS is a short film...!

Saw this at an LA showcase (same on the previous reviewer attended most likely?) and I was extremely impressed. Great characters, great atmosphere. Nailed the era to a Tee. A haunting ending that didn't feel mean-spirited or out of place to me at all if you consider it from a symbolic standpoint - The final image carries far more weight than that...

At the core this is a story about three terribly misguided young men trying to do right by themselves and their loved ones but, backed into a corner by society, instead lash out in the most violent of ways and in the process lower themselves to a level worse than their adversary to begin with. This was a BIG story to tell in 15 minutes and it is to the credit of the director, editor and writers that they were able to pull it off so successfully. This will definitely not be for "everybody" but I imagine fans of violent 70's cinema (or maybe even more relevantly, the film 'Mississippi Burning', to which this seems to play homage once or twice) will lap this one up.

As others have said, cinematography is gorgeous through and through; The decision to shoot on film as opposed to easier and more relevant digital capture methods paid dividends. Likewise the scope/execution of recreating the south in 1968 is handled with a strong attention to detail - sold me on that one. It is perhaps all the more impressive to learn that this was executed for only around $5,000, all in!

I'm not sure how much exposure this has received from the film festival world but I hope and imagine that it won't be long until we hear from these young filmmakers again. It is my understanding that one of the writers is kin to Forest Whitaker, and hopefully that kind of clout will help give the film momentum even though the story and execution have strong legs unto themselves!

Great work! 9/10.