When
an old man misses his train at a Boston Train Terminal,
he ends up accidentally preventing a young man from catching
his train. As both wait for the next train, the old man
decides to confide in the young man who waits with him about
secrets concerning a local politician that only he claims
to know. The young man is at first skeptical, dismissing
the tales as the ramblings of a senile old man, but, as
the old man recounts his stories, begins to wonder if there
might not be some truth to the elderly man’s words.
Possibly
the briefest synopsis of a film I’ve ever written
in the history of this magazine, I can not explain more
without including numerous spoilers to the film. I try only
to include spoilers if there are flaws with the ending of
the film. This film’s ending works well enough that
spoilers are therefore unneeded.
Content
From a writing perspective, this film breaks all the rules
about low-budget, short films. All the things you’re
not supposed to do in low budget shorts, like make them
about conspiracies, use lots of firearms, involve serial
killings, and require lots of special effects, this film
does. And, because the film is animated, it’s able
to do these at a consistent enough level to get away with
them and create a believable story.
The
animation is a bit blocky with somewhat blurred lip movements,
which, at first, causes you to have difficulty connecting
with them and believing that they are real. (This is of
course, due to the fact that Mr. Connell did all the work
on the film rather than a hundred animators on a Pixar film.)
However, the story and pacing of the film are so compelling
that, within a few minutes, you’re hooked into the
film.
