May 28, 20202 min read

Nada Clue short film review

★★★★

Written by: David Esposito

Starring: David Esposito, #JessicaMeeley and #RyanCrepack

Nada Clue is a short film written and directed by David Esposito. The short is concise and fun, with a witty dialogue and stereotypical performances from Ryan Crepack, who plays Detective Joel Dean, and Dave Esposito, who plays Detective Nick Marino, but that fit the roles perfectly.

Veronica Hernandez, played by Jessica Meeley, has an encounter with two clueless detectives after having been the victim of a burglary. Meeley plays Veronica as the completely opposite of the detectives, she is not the stereotypical Hispanic that the detectives expect. She is fed up with having to shatter the misconceptions attached to her last name and, moreover, she is fed up with the incompetent work of authorities, especially now that over $10000 worth of jewellery has been stolen from her.

The film’s genre and the construction of the two detectives – both in mannerisms and dialogue – seem to be taken right from scenes of Inspector Gadget and the 2006 Pink Panther, with the only thing missing being the French accent. Much like Pink Panther’s Inspector Clouseau, both Detective Joel and Detective Nick are endearing characters, so much so that Veronica does not even bother being angry with them when the narrative drops the twist. Detective Joel Dean supports a campy moustache that says more about his character than anything else, and both him and Detective Nick Marino bounce back and forth some incredibly slapstick dialogue that infuses the film with the essence of the campy comedy genre.

I mentioned in brief the style of the film in previous paragraphs and to that I would like to turn now. Esposito builds some scenes by betting on uncomfortable silences to draw the humour, which is an asset well used in the short film, and it also makes our identification align with Veronica’s character.

The snippets of soundtrack, especially during sequence transitions, place us right back with the body of films such as the aforementioned comedies. The cinematography here, made by Wesley Mellott, is not incredibly sophisticated but serves its main purpose, which is to highlight the performances and the dialogue – from medium long shots to close ups, objective shots are the preferred ones by Mellott.

Nada Clue is a very fun short film that serves to make us stop thinking about the troubles of everyday life for a few minutes. Much of what should be praised in the short is due to its simplicity and the combination of Esposito’s writing and directing with the work of Meeley and Crepack.