Liquor Bank

A short drama written and directed by Marcellus Cox and starring Antwone Barnes and Sean Alexander James.

Based on a true story, this film centers on Eddie (Barnes), a young man who is struggling with alcoholism. After having been sober for a year and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he goes back to drinking and misses a AA meeting. In response, the group's chairperson, Baker (James) arrives at Eddie's apartment in order to find out what is going on. He quickly realises that Eddie is drifting back into alcoholism and desperately tries to convince him to change his ways.

This short is very heavy on drama. The narrative revolves around the emotional and tense encounter between a troubled alcoholic and a person who wants to help him. The dialogue focuses primarily on Eddie's life, the troubles he is going through, particularly due to alcohol and Baker repeatedly attempts to talk some sense into him. As the verbal exchange progresses, it becomes more and more unstable and the atmosphere is heartbreaking and the emotions are even more vivid thanks to Luke Richards' dramatic music.

The screenplay is powerful, with well-written dialogue and great character development. Still, perhaps it might had helped in understanding Eddie even better if explanations were provided regarding the circumstances that caused him to become an alcoholic in the first place. Other than that, this short has no flaws.

Eddie is a broken man. He is a youth with a military background who has lost his way in life and finds solace only in alcohol. He is angry, depressed and isolated and is played brilliantly by Barnes. James is equally fantastic as Eddie's acquaintance from AA. Baker is an intelligent, patient and caring man who goes to great lengths in order to help people.

Arguably, a main theme in this short is alcoholism and the effects it has on people, isolating them and damaging their physical and mental health. The film ends with a quote by Jeff Warner that promotes the idea that people are meant to help each other and that is very much present in the story, as is self-reflection.

A moving story about alcoholism. With great performances and dramatic dialogue, this powerful short explores the consequences of alcohol addiction and points out the significance of reaching out.