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So, David Branin e-mails me and asks me to cover his film “Honey, I’m
Home” for our website, and I agreed. And
afterward, he offered me his five minute drama to which he boasted about
but kept an air of secrecy with even after I attempted to probe him.
After “Shoot Out” I was open to another film from Branin and the Dream Regime, because the short movie about two men
playing basketball ended up being a surprisingly good little thriller.
So, “Honey, I’m Home” and its mystery worked on me, and I sought out to
watch it ASAP. Was Branin just blowing smoke up my ass? I wouldn’t blame
him, since it’s a must to hype your film, but I was expecting something
surprising with “Honey, I’m Home.”
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And what do you know? I got what
I wanted. The surprise behind “Honey, I’m Home” is not what
you or I would think in the end. Sure, it’s about a man who
is cheating, and inevitably learns he can’t hide the secret
any longer, but it’s completely different from anything else
you’d see right now. I sat there thinking to myself, “I know
where this is going, and goddamn is it predictable,” and
voila, Branin completely jerks me around and I sat there in
disbelief. |
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It’s not often movies can surprise me
these days, but “Honey, I’m Home” sports a surprise ending that will
surely guarantee a gasp or two, and I sat there feeling duped, and I was
bowled over. “Honey, I’m Home” has an excellent performance from Jacob
Magnuson whose emotional performance is just tops.
His tears, his quivers,
and his mannerisms are genuine, and the man just commands the screen.
The script here is clever, and it’s one that I hope sports an award or
two at festivals, because originality is very hard to come by, even with
Indie films, and I’m glad the peeps at Dream Regime are going for
different and original. “Honey, I’m Home” is different and original, and
it kicked my ass.
The direction in
“Honey, I’m Home” leaves a little to be desired. What Branin seems to be
striving for is keeping the secret ending in tact, while also keeping
audiences from guessing what the hook is before the five minutes are up,
which is an arduous task, but the camera was pretty fuzzy, and most
times shook. One scene in particular was rather dizzying as Branin
focuses in on the main character’s wedding ring, and the camera goes
very shaky. Branin’s direction is competent, but tighter direction and
camera angles would have kept the suspense, and also held the film as a
higher quality drama.
Though Branin’s
direction is a bit haywire, “Honey, I’m Home” is a rich short film that
audiences will get a kick out of at festival circuits. The five minute
window gives us a perfectly compressed story arc, along with Jacob
Magnuson’s emotional performance that’s a real highlight. Check this out
at a festival near you.
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