Three-Fifty

Written and directed by first-timer Maurice Chauvet, THREE-FIFTY is a short comedy about an everyman who comes to his local video rental store and is confronted with a $3.50 fee upon his late returning of THE ENGLISH PATIENT. Trying to worm his way out of the late fee, the Customer (Evin Grensted), signs a paper indemnifying his unborn children’s souls to the video store. Sounds weird and crazy right? Maybe just a bit hilarious?

THREE-FIFTY vies to show that for every action there is a completely un-equal and opposite reaction. After the Customer signs the aforementioned paper, the Clerk (Michael Angelo Stuno) and the Manager (Melinda Augustina) tell him what $3.50 REALLY cost him. This short movie is great for a quick chuckle and the deadpan humor is really sold through the solid acting of all the characters. The lighting is minimal but well done, giving the video store and the characters a dull, dingy look that appears slightly washed out and askew. This is emphasized by a handheld camera style that feels a little eerie and just a bit off, just like the characters we’re viewing through its lens.