“One in the Gun,” by writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky, has some of the most captivating camera work I have seen in quite some time.
The work is inventive, but never showy. The camera angles don’t distract from the story, but rather give you a different way of looking at the action in the movie.
And with “One in the Gun,” it’s important to look at what’s going on from different vantage points. This is a movie where nothing is ever quite as it seems. And once you think you have nailed it down and figured it out — you haven’t.
The movie plays out like film noir by way of David Lynch. It’s a dark and twisted movie, but flashes of humor and lunacy pop up before anything gets too dark.
The action follows Mickey Lewis, who is a struggling painter — or so it would seem. Like the classic anti-heroes of noir films of the past, Mickey (played by Steven Man) is gruff and intelligent, but he’s not nearly as gruff or as intelligent as he thinks he is.
His life changes when his shopping cart crashes into the cart of Katrina (Katherine Randolph), the classic mix of beauty, intrigue and danger.
Katrina, on a whim, decides to offer Mickey a place to stay in exchange for his services — painting or otherwise. As expected, this decision doesn’t go over too well with Katrina’s husband (played by the Steven Bauer).
As with any good noir movie, the lies, double crosses and confusion soon mount up. No one is to be trusted and even your eyes can’t be believed.
“One in the Gun” is entertaining from the first shot to the last. The cinematography by Gigi Malavasi and the music by Christopher Farrell are top-notch, and Kanefsky deserves to be applauded.
The acting, at times, is somewhat uneven, but captivating work is done by several actors, highlighted by key performances from Robert Davi and James Russo.
On the whole, I may never have been 100 percent sure of what I was watching, but I am certain I had a great time doing it.
“One in the Gun” was featured as the closing night film at the 2010 SOHO Film Festival.
. . .
I’ll check this out. Thanks.
Sounds like a fun flick.