Omeleto | MAN'S BEST FRIEND | Omeleto @Omeleto | Uploaded September 2024 | Updated October 2024, 5 hours ago.
A married couple fights over the dog.
MAN'S BEST FRIEND is used with permission from Marcus Storen. Learn more at https://marcusstoren.com.
Georg and Elsa are an older married couple arguing fiercely over Tiedemann, the new dog in the house. Elsa is fed up with the creature, who is messy and noisy, disturbing the quiet routine of their lives. But the dog is adored by Georg. Elsa gives her husband an ultimatum: either Tiedemann returns to the shelter, or she will leave him.
Elsa returns later to find Tiedemann still there and an altercation happens, leaving Elsa dead and George scrambling to hide the evidence. When questioned by the police, Georg attempts to avoid suspicion, but he may not have thought everything through.
Directed and written by Marcus Storen, this short drama is a succinct portrait of marital discord over one man's unabiding affection for his canine companion, which escalates in unexpectedly dark directions. Yet it has an understated touch in dealing with its dastardly events, smartly holding back as it tracks Georg's deeds and how he tries to avoid detection while keeping viewers compelled to watch with deft craftsmanship and well-paced storytelling.
With its balancing act of tone and its series of events, the writing is especially sophisticated here, with the narrative structure of a crime story or police procedural, the coolly ominous visuals of a thriller and the dry, mordant wit of a dark comedy. Though the narrative begins with the furious argument between husband and wife, notable for both its pettiness and its vehemence, it soon toggles between the consequences of that fight: a crime committed and its aftermath, as framed by the police questioning Georg as they investigate the scene. This smartly emphasizes the question of whether or not Georg will avoid being caught, instead of drawing attention to how he will cover up his crime.
Actor Ingar Helge Gimle's pitch-perfect, avuncular performance is also a key element in the film's nimble balancing act of story and tone. He plays Georg's deep love and affection for Tiedemann over anything, doting on the small dog and bestowing care and devotion on him; it's no question to the viewer who Georg adores the most in his life. In a more conventional story, this would be an endearing trait. But in this narrative, it both explains Georg's actions and makes up the blind spot that will be his undoing.
Witty, intelligent and handsomely crafted, MAN'S BEST FRIEND could be framed as an unusual riff on the idea of the "crime of passion." It steadily accelerates to a rewarding build-up as Georg manages, through his friendly, almost paternal demeanor, to get through the questioning by the police. Yet in the end, there is no escape, as the story lands a dry yet richly ironic punchline at the end, becoming almost like a modern morality tale, of a man undone by predilections taken to outsized proportions. In the end, love is his undoing.
A married couple fights over the dog.
MAN'S BEST FRIEND is used with permission from Marcus Storen. Learn more at https://marcusstoren.com.
Georg and Elsa are an older married couple arguing fiercely over Tiedemann, the new dog in the house. Elsa is fed up with the creature, who is messy and noisy, disturbing the quiet routine of their lives. But the dog is adored by Georg. Elsa gives her husband an ultimatum: either Tiedemann returns to the shelter, or she will leave him.
Elsa returns later to find Tiedemann still there and an altercation happens, leaving Elsa dead and George scrambling to hide the evidence. When questioned by the police, Georg attempts to avoid suspicion, but he may not have thought everything through.
Directed and written by Marcus Storen, this short drama is a succinct portrait of marital discord over one man's unabiding affection for his canine companion, which escalates in unexpectedly dark directions. Yet it has an understated touch in dealing with its dastardly events, smartly holding back as it tracks Georg's deeds and how he tries to avoid detection while keeping viewers compelled to watch with deft craftsmanship and well-paced storytelling.
With its balancing act of tone and its series of events, the writing is especially sophisticated here, with the narrative structure of a crime story or police procedural, the coolly ominous visuals of a thriller and the dry, mordant wit of a dark comedy. Though the narrative begins with the furious argument between husband and wife, notable for both its pettiness and its vehemence, it soon toggles between the consequences of that fight: a crime committed and its aftermath, as framed by the police questioning Georg as they investigate the scene. This smartly emphasizes the question of whether or not Georg will avoid being caught, instead of drawing attention to how he will cover up his crime.
Actor Ingar Helge Gimle's pitch-perfect, avuncular performance is also a key element in the film's nimble balancing act of story and tone. He plays Georg's deep love and affection for Tiedemann over anything, doting on the small dog and bestowing care and devotion on him; it's no question to the viewer who Georg adores the most in his life. In a more conventional story, this would be an endearing trait. But in this narrative, it both explains Georg's actions and makes up the blind spot that will be his undoing.
Witty, intelligent and handsomely crafted, MAN'S BEST FRIEND could be framed as an unusual riff on the idea of the "crime of passion." It steadily accelerates to a rewarding build-up as Georg manages, through his friendly, almost paternal demeanor, to get through the questioning by the police. Yet in the end, there is no escape, as the story lands a dry yet richly ironic punchline at the end, becoming almost like a modern morality tale, of a man undone by predilections taken to outsized proportions. In the end, love is his undoing.
