No Tell! Short Film Review

★★★★

Directed by: #DarwinReina

Starring: #HasseBrontén, #ToroCuenca, #DanaDilan, #DidrikMorgan

Short Film Review by: Alexandra James

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No Tell! An action packed, gritty crime drama that focuses on a mob boss looking for an escape out of the crime lifestyle but needs to move quickly before his luck runs out. To do this, he must pull off one last hit while still acting as the big boss and test the loyalties of his trustees. However, which one of them is willing to betray the other to come out as top dog. The three henchmen include Shorty, Popeye and Jimmy all following the orders of their main guy Pancho. After pulling off a big drug heist, Pancho decides that its time to put them to the test and see just how reliable they all are.

The audience are thrown into the midst of the drama, and we are introduced to the characters one by one. The location is out in the woods and as they begin to step out the car and open the boot, we are greeted with a man tied up and covered in blood trying to scream for his life. This was a great opening scene and made for a gripping and exciting start getting us prepared for more shocking moments yet to come. This style of introducing the characters and their names flashing up across the screen creates a real edge, almost like Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. It’s a great way for us to get a feel for the characters, as well as introduce the audience to this world of crime that surrounds the men.

The scene then cuts back to their apartment, there was a slight contrast between scenes with the men sitting around the table. The film is set in the city of Stockholm and had some great shots of the city and landscape, making the setting feel vibrant and exciting especially when introduced to these gangsters and the hard-core world they live in. However, the apartment itself was very dark, and did not exactly reflect the men’s crazy lifestyle. In addition, there were a lot of cuts and awkward angles between each of the characters which made for choppy editing. It would have been beneficial to see them in a high-end apartment, as they walk around with suits and are clearly making lot of money due to their criminal activities. Moreover, the acting was a little clunky at times, the conversations did not seem at all natural and therefore the performance did not feel convincing.

No Tell! has established a good crime drama, the characters are no nonsense types and are completely ruthless, having no hesitation pulling out a gun on even their closest partners. This makes for a very brutal watch and in turn keeps the audience on their toes, as we are unsure who to put our trust in and the unpredictable behaviour of the characters. That is the mark of a good crime genre, the shocks and the impulsiveness, you never know who is going to go next!