"Our Father" a Runaway Film Production

Review of the Runaway Productions film, Our Father (2014), by Kaycee Jay Kendall

"Shedding a little light into a life of lies" -An irony of steel, which grips the intestines of this short film based on true revelations. Basically, a one-act pageant, the diversity of character that splays itself across the screen in this brief docudrama is stunning. It is difficult to watch a film like this and not be moved by it.

Dementia is a fear that grips the heart of the victim and engulfs the lives of those closest to the fire. In this film, Jared (played by Michael Worth) is a full-grown, functioning adult father, coming to grips with his own relationship to his formerly estranged father. His mother is a three-inch screen projection on his phone, who lends more to the dialog by what she doesn't say, than in the brief patter she shares with her son at the outset.

The "father," in this case, played by Michael Gross, known to most of his fans, as the wisecracking father in the eighties sit-com, Family Ties, which co-starred Michael J. Fox, finally gets a roll that he can sink his teeth into. It is a role that he plays to the hilt.

Probably, this film would warrant a PG-13 rating, by today's standards, mostly for adult situations and themes. But as a vehicle for changing lives, and changing the way that one views the world around us, "This could change everything," to quote the film.

The dysfunction that drives the plot is, in essence, the secret that is revealed to Jared in the course of a disjointed argument between he and his father. It is obvious, through the interactions of the principle players, as well as through their dialog, as it comes rolling across the screen like so many random tumbleweeds of information, in a storm that blows relentlessly, if unevenly through the film. Bit by bit, the viewer is drawn into the equation and we realize, along with Jared, that the formerly unsolved mysteries that inhibited his relationship with this man throughout his entire youth, were all part and parcel to the secret -hidden so long, but now revealed with undeniable honesty.

Gross and Worth are exceedingly great in their respective roles. They play off of each other's beats as though they truly were flesh and blood related. This carries the believability of the plot safely into the hands of the bit players (Jared's son and wife), whose supporting roles are also exemplary.

Linda Palmer, scripts the action and the dialog well, weaving a web of intrigue through hints and allegations, as well as through full-on flashbacks, so brief and tantalyzing, yet insightful. The pacing is perfect for the length of the film and the tension is abtly abetted through the understated soundtrack by composer Andre Barros. The original score, "Afraid of Me," written by Al Detrolio and performed by Nolan Neal, adds the final allusion to the demons that haunt the father figure.

This film is a fine piece of art as is, but could easily become part of a larger picture. One is left with a yearning to know the characters more intimately. One thing that is certain, for the eighteen minutes, or so, of screen time, not one second is wasted.