Blindsided
It can be very hard to tell a succinct yet complete story in a short amount of time. It’s a learned skill that plagues many writers, and even many successful Hollywood directors. Mark Cabaroy (LIFE'S PASSING ME BY) helms the short thriller BLINDSIDED starring Maria Rusolo as blind psychic Carly St John who works with the police to help find missing people. This film is very reminiscent of the Audrey Hepburn classic WAIT UNTIL DARK, in which a blind woman is trapped in her house and is terrorized by an intruder. This film confines the young lady to a hotel room where a criminal on the run, Randy Meyers (Chris Cardona) is holding her captive. But much like WAIT UNTIL DARK there is a great twist near the end, and BLINDSIDED doesn’t disappoint either.
While sticking to a slim 16-minute runtime, BLINDSIDED engages the audience immediately. When Randy enters her hotel room, we wonder what his agenda is, then Carly is introduced into the room, seemingly oblivious to Randy’s intrusion. Then the two finally speak to each other and the tension is heightened and is kept at an elevated level for much the rest of the movie. The confined spaces combined with Carly’s handicap makes for great cinema and Cabaroy knows how to pay it off at the end and keep the audience guessing until the final moments.
The acting from Maria Rusolo is top notch as the blind psychic. I’d say it was believable but that would be an understatement since the contact lenses she wore for the role actually MADE her completely blind. The level of trust she shows both her fellow actors (one of them armed with a knife in most scenes), and trust in her director seem to allow her to work freely in her environment, bringing out a stellar performance that you can really latch onto. Chris Cardona plays a relatively typical goon but infuses his role with a little sleezy je ne sais quoi that adds to his dangerous nature. His performance really compliments Rusolo’s in a way that helps to pay off the ending even more.
The cinematography is very well done. The colors are crisp, and the director of photography (Clayton Combe) does very well at working within the small confines of the hotel room. The editing (done by Mike Nero) is tight and keeps the story running from frame to frame. There is next to no downtime in this little thriller, and the director and editor obviously took every opportunity to keep it that way.
BLINDSIDED is running around the film festival circuit currently. I would recommend that if it is playing at one near you, take advantage of the opportunity and check it out!
