\'A Reasonable Request\' Review PDF

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An in-depth review of Andrew Laurich's 2015 short film 'A Reasonable Request'....

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‘A Reasonable Request’ Review Director Andrew Laurich Writers Andrew Launch, Gabriel Miller Cast John Ennis, Stephen Ellis Producer Christina Lee Genre Comedy Release June 15th 2015 Time 8 minutes Short films are often the neglected step-son of feature films but Andrew Laurich’s comical ‘A Reasonable Request’ is proof that better things can come in smaller packages.

This short film is anything but your average “abandoned son tries to reconnect with his estranged father” storyline. Although it does involve both these character archetypes, it centres around a very awkward proposal that would be inappropriate to mention in this review, and not because of it’s x-rated content but it would spoil the film’s brilliance.

‘A Reasonable Request’ is the definition of simplicity done well; all it really is on the surface is a conversation between a father and a son in a diner but if you look further there is much more depth to it. Although it may just be set in a booth of a diner and use the best of no more than five different shots, the film was shot beautifully and the finished product looks stunning, therefore a lot of credit must go to cinematographer Scott Uhlfelder.

The film was uploaded online before making it as an official selection for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. On Vimeo it has been given a mature rating and although nothing visually is explicit it leaves a lot of grim images up to the imagination, images I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. But without these the film wouldn’t work.

Furthermore, the characters seemed extremely genuine and given the circumstances they are brought in to, they never veered towards not being relatable. Everyone has played the infamous “would you do x for one million dollars?” game. John Ennis who plays the Dad and Stephen Ellis who plays the son both performed spectacularly, proving that comedy is as much about how it is delivered as opposed to what is delivered, as the material itself was ingenious.

Having seen my fair share of short films, Laurich’s nine minute masterpiece is definitely one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s often that short films lack a certain attribute compared to feature films but this one didn’t fall short at all. This is a film I would recommend to anyone, but to save the awkwardness try not watching it with your dad....