Beautiful Violence – By Joey Medina – Short Film Review
Beautiful Violence is a character-based emotional rollercoaster in the best ways imaginable.
Joey Medina takes the audience for a heartfelt, tragic, and at times hilarious journey between two characters in a very peculiar predicament. The film starts off in one way, and ends up going to a completely unexpected and ironically beautiful place.
The opening of the short follows our lead character, played by Bill Dawes, on some sort of desperate, panicked pursuit. It eventually leads us with him, into a dark alleyway at nighttime, where the man starts throwing racist slurs at an unknown man hanging out in this alleyway.
This startling, strange interaction leads to violence, as Bill Dawes character continues throwing the ruthless words at this man. Eric Blake portrays the man in the alleyway, and in time, we as the audience get the pleasure of seeing both these men showcasing their immense skill.
After beating Bill’s character to a pulp, the two men sit next to each other in exhaustion and begin talking. Without spoiling the depth of the story, I will just say that this conversation completely shifts both characters into a direction completely unexpected.
The writing of the dialogue, which is the major storytelling device at this point in the film, is absolutely wonderful. Joey Medina manages to capture a full story told through a genuine, realistic interaction, with tragedy and comedy. It’s an inspiring combination of tones, that is oftentimes very difficult to achieve in the short form. But Joey Medina manages to do it masterfully.
The acting across the entirety of the film lends itself perfectly to Joey’s writing and directing, and it manages to bring the film to the next level. The characters become sympathizable, deptthy creations that are a joy to watch on screen. Bill Dawes and Eric Blake have an unexpected dynamic that is incredibly engaging to see as an audience.
Beautiful Violence manages to establish an immaculate tone with a moving, constantly evolving story. The film has a tragic beauty to it, as the the title implies. Joey Medina has created an excellent short film in this work and it really leaves a lasting, thought-provoking impression in all the best ways possible.
We very much look forward to seeing where Joey Medina goes next!