Film Review: Jacob’s Wrath (short film) (2016)

SYNOPSIS:

Alone in an airport’s bathroom, a father embarks on a dark and twisted daydream that leads him to consider assassinating his daughter’s alleged murderer and the three young men who were present when the tragedy occurred.

REVIEW:

Ok more short films, kiddies! Today we have JACOB’S WRATH, a Canadian film written and directed by Alexandre Carriere.
The film stars Roc LaFortune as Jacob, a man in pain after the death of his child, desperately trying to come to terms with the loss. He knows his daughter was killed by a young man called Jeremy (Antoine Olivier Pilon) although the exact details are unclear. Perhaps an accident…perhaps an intentional act.

All we (the viewer) know for certain is that Jacob is a tortured man, possessed in loss and anger, dreaming of revenge for his lost child.

The movie plays out in a very surreal way. We don’t know how much of what we are seeing is real, or revenge fantasy, or perhaps in the mind of a grieving father looking for some sort of closure. The imagery is alternately post-apocalyptic and action movie, having a dream-like quality that keeps the viewer on the edge of knowing what exactly is real…and what isn’t.
Mr. La Fortune is an experienced actor and with little to no dialogue he gives us so much insight into the mindset of the grieving Jacob. We may not fully understand what is going on at first, but as the film progresses we learn more about what happened, and what Jacob plans to do about it.

This is a powerful film. A story of loss, anger, and revenge told in a concise way.

Using my special short scale of one to five, five being awesome, I’m giving this film 4 lacrosse sticks.