"Shakespeare's Dead" is a film that I really wanted to embrace and love.  I thought the film started out interesting, complex, and unique. The sad part is the film didn't really go anywhere.  When you have a short film that runs only nine minutes, you really have to do something and do something right away.  Unfortunately, the film never really turns its key.  The film appears to be stuck in neutral.  It's a real shame because this film could have really gone somewhere.  The film is very, very talky in its approach.  While I love great dialogue in films, it shouldn't be the only thing in your film.  It should be used to a certain extent, but not for the entire duration.  I kept waiting for the film to change locations or make an interesting twist along the way.  The film never really leaves the ground.

"Shakespeare's Dead" opens up in a dark room with a doctor and a criminal.  The doctor is trying to come up with a sufficient sentence for the criminal.  The criminal has killed a lot of innocent people.  He claims he was influenced by another source.  The criminal claims he can change and change for the better.  This doctor will hear none of it and wants to punish him for his sins.  The doctor can best be described as the doctor played by Kris Kristofferson in "The Jacket." He has no remorse and has some interesting techniques for his patients.  The criminal is doing his best to get the doctor to understand just what happened to him.  The doctor gives him a simple goal that he wants the criminal to follow.  Will the criminal do what's he supposed to do?  What's up with this doctor?

The main problem with "Shakespeare's Dead" is that I didn't really understand a lot of what was going on in the film.  I started off confused and stayed confused for the entire duration.  The film throws us in with these characters without giving us a proper background story on either of them.  Who are these people? Why should we care?  Also, The DVD I received had some really bad audio.  I had to turn the sound up all the way to hear a lot of what they were saying.  Even then, I still had problems hearing everyone clearly.  With that said, the film features some solid interaction with the main characters. I just think it would have been enhanced if we knew a little bit more about them.  I do understand it's difficult to fit character development into a short film.  Nevertheless, you need to find a way to slide it in there somehow if your film is going to be very talky.

"Shakespeare's Dead" is an example of a film that talks the talk but can't walk the walk.  You know how they say actions speak louder than words?  That's the case with this film.

• For more information on "Shakespeare's Dead," visit the official website.

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