Out Of Focus Short Film Review

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of being invited to the premiere of Manchester-based short-film Out Of Focus from first time Director Sean Gonet.

Sean also stars as the lead in the movie and when those credits rolled I was incredibly impressed with what I had seen.

A young detective, Jack Parker, is assigned to an ongoing investigation following a recent spate of murders. His only lead is vehemently shot down by his senior, DCI Phil Brooks.

However, through the power of persuasion, Parker is given 48 hours to tail his suspect, putting himself and his career on the line.

The short-film instantly takes us into the heart of Manchester and surrounding areas with its vibrant culture and picturesque streets which provide the perfect backdrop to this little crime caper flick. Parker (Gonet) is hot on the trail of a serial killer and the film flies by in an instant and never relents at any given moment.

The atmosphere is painted with tension even down to the wonderful scores from composer Gavin Manuel and the tasty colour palette and breathtaking locations captured wonderfully with splendid work from cinematographer Colin Thompson.

Out Of Focus feels as thou it could easily be a segment taken out of a big budget blockbuster or high rating TV cop show.

Whilst there are cop movie stereotypes such as the loud mouthed superior and the rookie trying to prove his worth this is quickly overlooked as the quest to find the killer begins.

Out of Focus was shot on a shoe-string budget yet everything about the production feels up-market. Finding out that both Sean and Kyle Roughneen are both first time Producers / Directors was quite a shock.

The entire production feels very experienced in how it’s portrayed. I’ve seen many an Independent film and short where it’s obvious in almost every scene that a particular actor has never acted before, a certain camera guy is just starting out or a certain locations guy has chosen his mums shed to shoot a particular scene but not with this production.

Everything about the production feels polished and for someones first attempt at creating a film, this is quite the accomplishment.

High praise indeed for these young lads who are taking their first steps into the filmmaking world but if there’s even one teeny, tiny criticism I could bring to the table it’s that I would have made the film longer.

The reason for this being is that a lot of content was delivered and crammed into a very short space and whilst it provides tension in the right places that tension is quickly released before it can really hit home due to duration restrictions.

Stretch the film out, add a little more depth to proceedings and I feel that would have rounded off this perfect example of how first-time filmmakers should make their mark!