A man’s evening is interrupted by the arrival of a strange man who may not be who he first seems in the short thriller Polaroid from writer/director Dante Aubain.
In this day and age, with reasonably easy access to affordable cameras and lenses, more and more short films in recent years are becoming aesthetically pleasing. With great lighting, lens choices, and affordable colour grading packages, newcomers to the world of film have an abundance of opportunities to create stylish films. The main issue now though, is most amateur filmmakers choose style over substance. There are many great-looking short films, but not many also have an excellent story, screenplay, and performances.
Polaroid does not have that problem.
A man, who we learn is named Arthur (Adam Paul Hunter) is busy around his home, making a hot drink in his kitchen, when the doorbell is rung. After opening the door, he finds a stranger called Sam (Chris Jehnert) asking to see Arthur’s wife Catherine. Though Arthur is rather dubious about the late-night visitor, he decides to humour him and allow him entry before calling his wife’s phone to talk to her, which goes unanswered.
Then, over a hot drink at the dining table, both men begin to converse and, as they do so, more information is revealed about the surprise visit, which sets in motion a battle of wits and deceit.
Coming in at just over twenty minutes in length, the whole of Polaroid is based in Arthur’s home, which looks like a small apartment. With the snappy dialogue and Aubain’s wise choice to gradually give the audience snippets of information instead of piledriving it on to us, the audience can easily get sucked into what is happening on screen, helping to forget that the short is basically a two-hander set in one small location.
The performances from both Adam Paul Hunter and Chris Jehner are both good, and they handle their characters well, though Hunter’s upper-class English accent takes a little time to get used to. It’s like the voice he opted to use belonged to a much older English gentleman from Downton Abbey, instead of the young twenty-something-looking actor on screen. Still, other than that rather slight gripe, I was impressed by both.
The lighting is done really well, with some great uses of practical lights including lamps and candles. One other aspect, that may go unnoticed but deserves praise is the excellent classical soundtrack. Though the music may not be composed especially for the film, the choice and use help highlight the visuals throughout.
According to Dante Aubain’s director’s statement, he was very much influenced by the incredible David Fincher thriller Zodiac, and, during parts of this movie you can see the influence, especially when comparing to the Zodiac scene where Jake Gyllenhaal visits a potential suspect who owns a home with a basement.
Polaroid is a well-made and performed short thriller that is highly recommended.
