Kylie Eaton’s short film Kinetic immediately pulled me back to my youth, when I walked into my local 7-Eleven and bought my first X-Men comic. As cool as it might be to have powers, there’s always a dark side to being different.
Kinetic is the story of a teenage girl, Jess (Violet Brinson), sitting in her bedroom and feeling anxious about the arrival of her Aunt Drea’s (Amy Davidson) friends. Entering the home are two men carrying a safe, and for the next few moments, they unsuccessfully attempt to crack it.
Jess is soon called into the living room, and Drea attempts to convince Jess to open the safe. Jess begins to protest, knowing she’s only needed for her yet-to-be-revealed abilities, and her frustration leads to unexpected consequences for all involved.
“Jess begins to protest, knowing she’s only needed for her yet-to-be-revealed abilities…”
Writer/director Kylie Eaton packs a big punch in her five-minute film. Kinetic is low-budget sci-fi that looks mid-budget capturing beautiful exterior shots of its mid-western farming landscape and its home interior shots. Each sequence comes across as professional, and she sets the perfect tone with her handheld cameras and lighting. She also pulls out fantastic performances from Brinson and Davidson. They understand the story and their roles.
I won’t go into detail about the end, but it’s quite compelling, and the final wide shot is like a magic show, how did she do it? I know how, but how did she do it with a small indie budget? Five minutes is short for a short, but Eaton effectively strips down the story to its essential elements allowing it to move at a good pace while effectively hitting on the story’s important plot points.
Short and sweet with a helluva ending, Kinetic is worth a watch and will leave you wanting more.
"…effectively strips down the story to its essential elements..."
