Director Mike Doto's opus of marital discord focuses on two particular people who make it plainly obvious that their happy marriage is anything but. Doto's film "Peace" begins with a sheer high note focusing on the couple who are attempting to celebrate Howard's fiftieth birthday. His wife Betty begs that he be quiet during their celebration to which Howard screams at her. "Peace" then focuses on the couple and this "relationship" of a sorts as he's forced to spend time with her now that he's retired and growing old. The theme of time is a constant here with constant flashes to clocks, which basically symbolize many things in the end. The time it took, the length of their marriage, and basically the time utterly wasted.

Howard's retirement now means he has to spend an enormous amount of time with this woman, his wife, whether he likes it or not and things begin to escalate. In the principal cast are two of the most prominent and talented character actors in Hollywood Kurtwood Smith from "That 70's Show" and Nancy Lenehan whose been in films like "Pleasantville" and shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond". The two naturally embody their characters, especially Smith who made a mark on the television lexicon as the crusty and utterly sour father Red Forman in "That 70's Show" and he supplies much of those traits here with his nearly insane character who begs one thing of his wife, that she try not to help so much. By "helping" she only makes things worse and worse, and soon Howard finds his space getting smaller and smaller. Lenehan is great as well as irritating Betty who seems to mean well with Howard but can only seem to make things worse.

What's truly peculiar is we're never even told why these miserable people are married. There are hints back and forth, but we're not told which ends up adding a sense of mystery. And writer Braker inserts the constant theme of time to the story which ends up really becoming the defining trait here. The clock is very symbolic as a plot device that suggests so many hints at character. It's Howard's last link in life, the one true cause for getting up in the
morning, and staying in the same place he detests. The final plot twist really does spell out the entire movie for us and sums up these people's relationships in a nut shell with a bittersweet note.

For a short independent film, "Peace" is a very well-acted, funny, and bittersweet comedy from Doto and Braker who use these actor's talents to the fullest extent and supply a very human story within the short time period that really ends as an absurdist dramedy with an ending that perfectly summarizes what we've seen.

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