Polaroid

Living a so-called “normal” life is undoubtedly safe, but when does it ever get fun? Arthur (Adam Paul Hunter) is a simple man living a dual life in Dante Aubain’s short film, Polaroid. On this particular evening, Arthur is preparing a quiet dinner with a promising young female, as it is his night. “His night” meaning Arthur’s wife is away for the night so that he can have some fun.

Instead, an unexpected visitor, Sam (Chris Jehnert), arrives at the front door, and the two engage in a battle of wits. Arthur has a dangerous, dark secret involving the steady stream of promising young females that come to his door. On the other hand, Sam is fascinated by Arthur’s secret life when he learns about it from an encounter with Arthur’s wife.

“…an unexpected visitor…arrives at the front door, and the two engage in a battle of wits.”

Polaroid is a two-hander between Authur and Sam. Both men hope to extract information from the other through a suspicious yet casual conversion without giving away their intentions. It’s a verbal game of chess. What makes it all so intriguing to watch is the nature of their relationship. Both are strangers, but like an obsessed fan of a psychopath, Sam has to meet this infamous killer figure and uncover his secrets.

Writer/director Aubain’s Polaroid is an “interesting” story to watch unfold with its “interesting” performances (I love being intentionally vague here). But, weirdly, as the two men remain emotionally distant from one another, that’s the feeling I had with the story… distant. I think having more blatant clues about who these gentlemen were would help set the right tone going into their conversation—more time to understand these characters better.