Directed and produced by Joe Otting
Written by David I. Jenkins
Starring John Hoogenakker and Isabella Crovetti-Cramp
USA, Comedy, 8 min, 2015.
Review by Clinton Stark
The Talk is “not for young children unless you want an awkward talk with them.”
Indeed. The pitfalls of parenting. Sugar-coating be damned.
The 8-minute short is coming to Cinequest next month and I was able to watch it today.
About all I can tell you about the film is that it concerns a heart-to-heart talk between a father and daughter in a 50s-style diner. To say more would be to spoil the quasi-twist that comes early.
I can say this: The Talk is clever, (bitter?) sweet, and the ultimate anti-dote for the 21st-century challenged parent. Strong writing keeps this short humming along, basking — oozing wonderfully — in sardonic, black comedic sauce. My kind of film to be sure. If sarcasm is your friend on occasion you’ll quickly see what I mean.
The Talk: What did her father say?! And… what will she say…?!
Performances by John Hoogenakker (Empire) and daughter Isabella Crovetti-Cramp (Colony) are spot-on; milking silences, dishing dialog that feels every second authentic. The acting here easily rises above most indie short film fare.
Production values are superb too with outstanding cinematography (Jeff Stonehouse) — that color grading! — presented in wide-aspect ratio, and a delightful soundtrack (Nathan Furst) that reveals and fades at all the right moments.
The Talk
Cinequest Film Festival 2016
John Hoogenakker and Isabella Crovetti-Cramp star in short ‘The Talk.’
March 4 10:00pm
March 6 3:45pm
March 11 4:30pm
Next time you find yourself in this kind of awwwwkward parent-child situation, make sure you have a full pot of coffee on hand, and, of course, pie helps too.
Highly recommended.
You catch The Talk at the 2016 edition of the Cinequest film festival, running in San Jose from March 1 – 13.
The Talk
