Loss affects all of us differently, but in the case of a local car mechanic, it nearly shuts him and his entire business down for good. Duane Hansen Fernandez’s directorial debut finds the filmmaker diving into the psyche of a broken man and searching for an answer to unbearable trauma.
A grief-stricken mechanic named Jose (Clifton Collins Jr.) is struggling to get by in his day-to-day life. No amount of meditation or self-help recordings can help him, and as the deadlines for his projects approach, he confronts some devastating prospects. His future and soul hang in the balance, when an unexpected call comes in with a familiar voice on the other end. That call offers him a sliver of light in his darkness.
Thematically familiar but no less intriguing, A Place to Fall Down gets the most out of every element of its story. At just 14 minutes, it’s impressive how much narrative ground the film covers. We spend no more than a day in Jose’s autobody shop, and yet we somehow feel a connection to the man and his workplace. It’s always enjoyable to see indie creators use one location and make the most out of it. You really get the sense that the production team looked high and low to maximize this particular set. Ultimately, this is all made possible by Fernandez’s astute vision that favors strong compositions and Danielle Statuto’s slick editing techniques that draw the viewer in with a variety of tense sequences.
A decent short often gets by on its camerawork alone, but A Place to Fall Down also brings an incredibly layered sound design as well. Mixed by Amanda Beggs and scored by Wink Winklemann, the crisp mechanical noises and chilling transition effects get an excellent boost from a moody, chilling soundtrack.
The pressure that mounts on Jose is slow and calculated, making him question his own existence. Collins Jr. is a striking presence on screen, capably carrying the emotional burden of his character’s troubled past. As is often the case with performances like these, he doesn’t say much, yet the heartbreak he conveys feels tangible.
With a poignant look into the depths of one man’s grief, this heartbreaking short will remind its audience how each person’s dance with grief can be all encompassing.
