Images courtesy of Matthew Weinstein
DEATH IS BUSINESS— 4 STARS
As a short film, Death is Business dips its toe into the seedy underworld of murder-for-hire. For the specific and highly coordinated type of crime being committed on screen, the toe being dipped isn’t coming out explicitly bloody. It may even look stylishly clean, but make no mistake, there is an unchecked dirtiness clinging to the extremities. With an intellectual meticulousness matching its felonious acts, Dirty Business puts diabolic impetuses under an intriguing microscope.
It’s the night of a contentious mayoral election in the city of Chicago in Death is Business. A television journalist (Patrick De Nicola of When Your Date Hates Star Wars) is introduced with a breaking news report of the results. The pundit describes a developing situation of potentially far-reaching voter fraud. While the on-screen data graphic shows former White House Chief of Staff candidate Jim Reikan (shades of former Chicago mayor Rahn Emmanuel) more than doubling the total of his opponent and former small town mayor Tina Cordearo, evidence is coming out that an election official may have tossed out Cordearo ballots and filled in blank ones for Reikan. It’s bad enough that the government is not going to certify the results.
On that note, Death is Business’s point-of-view steps out of the television into the darkened room of a residence. A woman (Karina Devine of The Dream Ledger and God’s Not Dead II: Trials and Tribulations) and a man (Jameson Crockett) are shown watching the news report at the moment when they present parking garage footage of a man in a light shirt and a dark baseball cap leaving suspiciously with a briefcase in a car. Suddenly, with a nod from the woman, a previously unseen intruder (Path of Egress’s Paskal Pawlicki) emerges to tase the man from behind and render him unconscious. The woman doesn’t scream or react. She’s in on this crime, and the questions begin.
LESSON #1: THE MOTIVE FOR A CRIME– Right after the man drops, the room widens and our watching brains now crave a motive or clue. We see car keys, the newly familiar hat, and an ID badge for the tasered man named Visser on the counter. The label on the badge indicated he works for the Reikan campaign. If this man on the floor is indeed the guilty party indicated on TV, several hypotheses come to mind, starting with who the two people left standing in this room are.
Suggested by their stealth, calmness, skill, and clear preparation, these two are professionals. Maybe they are “cleaners,” but not the kind there to tidy up the apartment. The woman asset is Bianca Rosemary, and the male conspirator is Howie Reed. As we’ve already seen with her giving the order for assault, she is a steely and righteous customer. Howie, on the other hand, is quite the loquacious and casual individual. Still, we don’t know if these two contracted operatives are here to clean up for Reikan or intervene on behalf of Cordearo.
As they perform their duplicitous and careful setup of making this scene with Visser look a certain way, Howie prattles on about the news at hand. He is dismissive and there for the paycheck. Bianca, in contrast, is wound much tighter and carries much higher stakes in the matter. She decides to impart a little sense into her semi-aloof partner.
Death is Business paints this increasingly embattled exchange in a luster of blue-tinged cinematography from director of photography Austin Vinas and colorist Djordjo Vidovic (working as the 2nd assistant camera as well). The glow of the nearly aquamarine environment gives off a stellar James Cameron or Michael Mann aesthetic that soaks this entire setting with chilling suspense. Adding another sensory element, the muted, slow grunge vibe of the background music by Tea Scotty adds to the alarm direness of the short film directed by Matthew Weinstein of The Gun Equation, A Missed Connection, and Amongst the Ashes.
LESSON #2: THE MOTIVE OF THE CRIMINALS– With dialogue thickening with substance, and without missing a beat with her tasks, Karina Devine unfurls a diatribe of edgy principles as to why her character is involved at this very crucial and dangerous moment. It’s a hell of a collective conversational monologue answered adroitly by Paskal Pawlicki, who finds his character becoming increasingly more convinced by the cause she’s spitting with venom. Debuting screenwriter Tyler Pistorius (normally an actor and producer with Weinstein) deserves kudos for penning this evil version of a soapbox full of provocative talking points that were merged so smoothly with the methodical physical activities on screen.
Death is Business continues to highlight Chicago-based filmmaker Matthew Weinstein’s deft skill of atmosphere and slow-boil revelations. Despite their short film length, his directed films are purposeful and never rushed. Their effects–ranging over the years from personal grief and lovelorn guilt to the deliberate corruption depicted here—linger like a pungent smoke or fog. Even though you would love another hour in his narratives, the impressions are made and, more importantly, land completely, even with shorter run times.
LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED (#1298)
