By Marc S. Sanders
Calvin Ghaznavi directs a seven-and-a-half-minute short film called, Stay In The Car, that’s long on tension while limited on dialogue.
Not much needs to be said to understand that a fifteen-year-old girl named Salem (Lara Hunter) is alert, yet terrified, while being left to her own abandon in the front seat of an El Camino. It’s the middle of the night and her strung out mother (Ashley Alva) is on a mission with a stranger (Timothy V Murphy) sitting in the passenger side. The title of this of this picture tells us what Salem is instructed to do. The conflict is if Salem will oblige.
Amanda Ross was inspired to write this haunting anecdote based on a real life experience. Lara Hunter is her real life daughter reenacting the scenario. Hunter’s expressions of fear and confusion are striking. We only know so much as what she sees. Perhaps Salem will become a witness brought in for questioning about this night where her mother and this stranger visited a hotel and returned with a bloody wrench. At another stop, one less person returns to the car. That’s all Salem knows. That’s all we know.
Ghazvani is very focused on primarily providing close ups. We don’t know how the adults know one another or what they are striving for. We don’t get to see the back seat of the car, or where it’s traveling to next. All we know is that Salem likely relies on teenage fun like wearing colorful wristbands. The hula dancing ornament on the dashboard doesn’t belong in this scenario either. It was there from another time; maybe Salem and mom picked it up at novelty store during a happier time. It’s convincing that Salem does not belong in a tense filled situation like this. Salem’s normality has suddenly turned nightmarish.
Stay In The Car does not so much explain a story as it offers a perspective where a child is submerged in a circumstance of darkness, wet roads, violent aftermaths, distant sirens and overwhelming uncertainty. Ghaznavi and Ross should expand on the seeds of what they’ve created. There’s potential for a thrilling and thought-provoking story at play. What happened before Salem (or Amanda) stayed in the car? What happened afterwards? With less than eight minutes to see for myself, I’m dying to know more.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 