Writer, Director And Actor- Stephen Michael Kelly
Stephen Michael Kelly is a known face in the independent filmmaking circuit. From his critically acclaimed short film “No Mas” to “I Can’t Save You,” he establishes himself as a talented filmmaker, actor and writer. Stephen has also written two full-length screenplays, “Secret Messages” and “Retribution” which have won awards in numerous film festivals. He is working on his upcoming romantic comedy film “Mikey Blue Eyes” which will be shot on Long Island, New York in this fall. The film features an ensemble cast of veteran actor Artie Pasquale, Joe Cirillo. Apart from these notable men, American film producer Frank Mancuso is also in the cast of the upcoming short film of Kelly. Kelly will play the title role of Mikey “Blue Eyes” Morrissey.
Overview
His crime drama short film “The Righteous” is also an acclaimed film of his with only two characters and one location. The film became a finalist in the Best Short Film category of the Elegant International Film Festival. The film stars Stephen Michael Kelly himself along with Steve Whelan in the guest appearance.
The film centres around a deeply religious detective (Stephen Michael Kelly) who interrogates a man who he thinks is a serial killer (Steve Whelan) and is compelled to act. The film delves into the complexities of justice and righteousness. The seasoned detective reminds the accused that he had interrogated him eight years ago on a domestic violence charge. The detective then describes himself briefly how he served the police department for twenty eight years and how he has seen death and miracles. The detective believes in divine intervention. But one thing that bothers and disturbs him is the assault on women. The accused almost killed a sixty six year old Miss Williams. He describes the accused as a devil.
The detective shocked the accused by saying that he wants the accused to show how he choked the old woman. He creeps in by saying that cameras are not working and no one is there in this room except them. The detective believes that this is a divine intervention.
Review
The direction of the film is masterful with excellent crisp editing by Stephen Robin. A claustrophobic feel remains intact throughout the film. The treatment goes well with the grim and intense mood of the film. The background music uplifts the tension to an upper level.
The acting by Stephen Michael Kelly and Steve Whelan is commendable. Kelly wonderfully gets into the skin of a deeply religious detective who believes in God and his divine interventions. Steve Whelan as the accused is also great in the film.
The pacing of the film is well maintained with suspense build up and characterization. Through some minimal dialogues we get to know about the characters and their beliefs. The narrative is also very smooth with no wasting time on unnecessary things. The title also wonderfully justifies. Here the detective believes that he is on the righteous path to make justice. He can go to any extent to serve justice.
Conclusion
Overall, Stephen Michael Kelly directed crime drama “The Righteous” is a compelling and layered short film with some excellent performance and background score. With it’s captivating storyline, the short film continues to garner aclaims and praise from everywhere.
The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author. The above writing is completely based on the author’s own perspective.
