This Is a Microphone

This Is a Microphone is director Phillip Jordan Brooks' third short film and certainly shows that he is continuing to grow as a director, even though the film lacks the creativeness of the previous Nobody But Her and pulls up short of intent at its finale. Brooks, who also co-wrote the script, takes on the timeliness of the desperation of job loss. A young bank employee (actor Scott Gannon Patton)has been fired and there is a foreclosure on his home from the bank. Frantic, his family has fallen apart and he has has no mortgage money, he returns to the bank to ask for a loan that is denied. Pushed to the limit, he decides to take matters into his own hands and, in the process, expose underhanded practices at the bank. Brooks packs a lot into this intense offering and, for the most part, brings it off. The primary quibble is that the well-created intensity and seriousness runs aground in a sudden move to a happy, and not too believable, finale, therefore, instead of a punch to the solar plexus, it becomes a shove. What does stand out is Brooks' directorial command in focusing the story within the short time alloted. He makes great use of the close-up of eyes and faces to convey quick emotions where spoken dialogue is not needed. His pacing is quick and tight with no extraneous scene setting. One would like to see Brooks get hold of a thriller. Intense is something he does well. Add to that, a wonderful sense of casting. In a short film of this nature, characters have to be drawn quickly, from scared people in a bank and empathetic friends to the nominal villains, in this case a smarmy bank executive (William H. Gallmann) and a bitch bank officer in heels (Mary Alfred Thoma). Both are excellent, as is Patton's frustrated hero, who is barely keeping it together. Patton also was fine in the earlier Nobody But Her as a sympathetic young policeman. This Is a Microphone is slick filmmaking, and its seven minutes are entertaining right to the musical score, which also helps in creating the atmosphere. Brooks has all the equipment to be a first-rate director. One hopes he gets the opportunity of longer fare. LANE CROCKETT, former critic of the Gannett News Service and The Shreveport Times

This film was in the 2012 LA Film Prize, and in my personal opinion was the best film, but was definitely in the top 5 of all films shown by all voters. This film WILL be made into a full length film (I mean, it better be, right?) and ... well, I'll know that I saw it when it was fledgling :D

It was intense, it had a lot of easily missed details, it was well done and I can't say much more than that. Gushing fanboy indeed. :D

Apparently I'm to leave more lines of text to have an acceptable review, and I'm not entirely sure what's missing from what I have, so how about a bit longer of a read that doesn't actually tell you anything? It's as- I-saw-it a fifteen minute film, and telling you much more than I have is going to start inducing spoilers.

I did laugh the first time he said the title of the film, I can tell you that much.

Phillip Jordan Brooks has fashioned a taut, intense drama, imbued it with much humanity, populated it with excellent performances from all of his actors, and made it immediately engaging from start to finish. It is no easy accomplishment for a 14 1/2-minute movie to say and do as much as this one does, but director Brooks manages it all, with a sure hand and seeming ease.

In the lead role of a young man driven to desperation by financial woes, Scott Gannon Patton delivers a potent and nuanced performance, full of palpable anguish and vulnerability. Luke Eddy and Mary Alfred Thoma are especially notable in supporting roles. The uniformly excellent cast also includes Bill Gallmann, Kurt Deville, Bill Stinchcomb,Katie Walker and a couple of enchanting little girls, Leah Catherine and Lena Thompson.

A standout at the Louisiana Film Festival, this is a true little gem, not to be missed.

I am not normally a fan of short films. It seems that the film makers feel so constrained by the time limit that they use only the most light-weight ideas or just use the time as an exercise in how handy they can be with a camera. But This is a Microphone is a horse of a different color. In its 15-minute running time, it works like a high-quality feature film. A smart, intense story-line about a guy who has been royally screwed by the bank where he used to work, leading to a major meltdown, and an unexpected conclusion that's full of heart. There is not a wasted moment, all of the characters are well-conceived, completely believable, and wonderfully played by a great bunch of actors. At short film festivals, this is the one to watch.