MicroCinema Scene

Many short movies have a twist or a “punch line” where the viewers say to themselves, “Ooh, I get it…” It is an entirely justified cliché, since it is difficult (though not entirely impossible) to be given a really meaty story in the span of fifteen to twenty minutes. These “Punch Line Movies” often deliver the feeling of a complete experience because something happens; most people can walk away from them with some level of satisfaction. In The Cold Heat, a film noir style short from director Shane Ryan, something does indeed happen, though besides sex, a double-cross of some sort and a murder, I’m not sure what. Normally this would be fine, but the movie’s “punch line” is missing from the above list, even though it is essential to the double cross and inevitably the murder. In fact, it may even be caused by the sex.

The movie stars Ryan himself and Michiko Jiminez as two lovers who do a whole lot of loving (nearly half the running time is dedicated to them having down and dirty sex, twice!) and not enough communicating. Ryan and Jiminez both deliver good performances. They know the world they’re acting in and inhabit it nicely. Jiminez is especially fearless. Both actors spend most of the movie with their clothes off, but unlike Ryan, her goods are on display a lot of the time. Yet she never seems vulnerable; quite the contrary actually. Both seem to be hiding a secret, but true to the genre, only the guy seems to be in turmoil over it while his moll calmly smokes her cigarettes, an act that in a genre pic such as this is almost a sacred ritual unto itself. The movie is set entirely in and around a hotel room, which again is suitable given the genre and Ryan does a good job of cramming as much grit and seediness as possible into a little under fifteen minutes of running time.

Grit is the prime word when it comes to the look of the film. The movie is presented in black an white, which usually comes off nicely in digital, though never quite looks as good as film. It’s difficult to guage what type of lighting was used, but the movie looks appropriately stark and I was reminded more than once of Darren Aronofsky’s PI, which again serves the story well. One scene is shot in color, probably to show the red of the blood that is plentiful in said scene. This hurts the otherwise excellent visual presentation, because the scene looks like below-average digital video, without any white balancing or beauty in the colors - even the reds - to deliver the visceral punch most liekly intended. Nevertheless, Ryan and his collaborator David Betten deserve credit for a well-shot movie.

The audio-presentation is up to snuff as well. While the dreamy echoing of the spoken dialogue distracts somewhat, it’s aided by the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of dialogue to begin with. However, other heightened uses of sound, things as simple as a bathroom light’s fan amped up to an overpowering level, add wonderful tension and atmosphere. The music, by “Boneshin”, is okay in its own right, but never really gels with the look of the movie. In other words, it’s not noir music, but since the filmmakers obviously didn’t have the money to afford Jerry Goldsmith style horns and brass, it is quite forgivable and honestly never detracts greatly from the movie.

So is this a good movie? That I will leave up to you. The movie isn’t perfect. A lot of the sex stuff could have been eliminated to make the film leaner and more focused. Nevertheless, I recommend The Cold Heat because it is well done technically and the performances are solid. I missed what the twist was and the question of whether that is my fault or the filmmakers’ is up for discussion, but after all, this is a genre known for mystery. Perhaps in time I will unravel it on my own, but in the meantime, give it a shot yourself.

Three and a half stars.

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