Desperation – a fourteen-minute short about a man, Ricky Romano (Beau Yotty), pushed to the edge because of the current economic climate. Wanting to provide for his family he resorts to crime, which will change his life forever.

Whilst the premise is somewhat relatable and promising the execution for ‘Desperation’ is less than slick. It’s understandable, however, when you take in account the equipment and budget used.

It isn’t cut together very well and the overall framing comes across awkward. Some cuts are too quick and messy, which disrupts the flow, but some interesting angles indicate a positive creative mind-set.

The music used at the start and the sound effects present throughout are unnecessarily over dramatic, creating the sense of a thriller. A more subtle and toned down approach would have worked towards the drama genre, which would benefit the situation and form a stronger connect between the audience and the character.

Yotty portrays a frustrated and desperate individual well and the guilt is easily noticeable. But this antagonist comes to the realisation unconvincingly due to some persuasive words. Ricky’s situation needed more depth and emotion to really evoke sympathy.

‘Desperation’ ends with all too familiar dialogue from a voice over but it gets the point across effectively.

Written by Ben Harris