GOOD GIRL

THE SETUP

Firstly, I’d just like to say thanks to Three Tales Productions and Co-Writer/Director, Wesley Alley for allowing me early access to an online screener of his 9 minute Drama/Thriller short, “Good Girl”. Good Girl takes place on the night of Charles (played by Zack Ward) and Helen’s (Amanda Markowitz) milestone anniversary. The pair is enjoying a nice meal, fine wine, and some old tunes in the comfort of their own home before they realize that all good things must come to an end.

THE GOOD

I previously reviewed Wes’s micro-short, “SockMonster” earlier this year https://adamthemoviegod.com/2018/04/16/sockmonster-review-this-aint-no-puppet-show/ and it’s turned out to be one of the most impressive shorts of 2018 thus far. Building a career mostly in the camera and electrical department, Alley has since ventured into writing and directing short films over the last 7 or 8 years. It’s filmmakers like Wes that have inspired me to get involved in the industry. Ryan McCoy’s camera work in Good Girl is smooth in nature and it’s complemented nicely by a soft lighting in a gothic style of presentation. There’s a series of nice close-ups and the proper time is taken in setting the scene. The audio track is clean, and the old record music combines with Rob Reider’s brief but frenetic orchestral score to create an effective atmosphere. Zack Ward (Freddy vs Jason) brings an ample amount of creep factor to Charles. Appearing calm on the surface but you’re never quite sure what he’s thinking. Amanda is solid in her role too.

THE BAD

It’s a little on the nitpicky side, but some of the shots in the climax are just a fraction darker than they needed to be. If I have one key complaint it’s that I was able to predict the direction of the story less than a couple of minutes into it (and that was without looking at screenshots). Being only 9 minutes long though, it doesn’t alter the overall enjoyment of the film. I was left a little in the dark (pardon the pun) about the why of it all, but I suppose leaving your audience on that kind of note isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Good Girl is another really impressive short film from Three Tales Productions. The cinematography is sound, the audio is crisp, and the score is subtle in the best possible way. Zack and Amanda give commendable performances and it proves to be an entertaining thriller. Seasoned viewers (and particularly ones of short films) are likely to find the key development rather predictable from the outset, and they might be left a little cold on the reasoning. Whilst I don’t think this one is quite as memorable as SockMonster it’s still well worth a look. Keep an eye out for the release of Good Girl soon!

My rating for “Good Girl” is 7.5/10