MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Under The Dark Wing’

Film: Under The Dark Wing
Starring: Jessy Rowe, David Graziano, Fiore Leo
Directed By: Christopher Di Nunzio

The trick to making a successful low budget short is to make sure it is compelling, visually stimulating, and satisfying to watch. This may sound like a fairly simple thing to do but go to your favorite video site and search for “independent short film” and you will soon see that missing the mark is far more common than creating something great. In his new short, Under The Dark Wing, director Christopher Di Nunzio comes closer than most to making a great film despite not quite getting there. 

Under The Dark Wing follows Johnny Boy (Fiore Leo) as he returns to his boss (David Graziano) after one of his “jobs” goes wrong due to a young girl (Jessy Rowe). His boss sees the girl as an opportunity to increase his ill gotten gains but neither he nor Johnny Boy realize the girl has a dark secret inside of her that will make dealing with her very…complicated.

No one can say that this short does not have quality cinematography. The black and white film is lit dramatically and effectively to convey the emotions needed to bring suspense to the screen. This is especially noticeable during the indoor scenes where tension is needed. Unfortunately, the dialogue sounds forced and unnatural, so much that it is hard to take seriously. That is not to say that the actors did poorly — they do a convincing job despite the verbal shortcomings. As far as plot is concerned, Under The Dark Wing is relatively uninteresting. When it is over you should want more but this movie only makes you want to watch something else. Still, it could have been a lot worse than forgettable.

Score: C-

Review written by: Justin Proper

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