The Contract (2014) Online

Contracts are the papers that bind individuals to the drawbacks they'd prefer to not have. More often than not, they portray things no one wants,...unless you're an A-List actor with a contract for a 3 picture movie deal,...that's a different story. Are there ways of getting out of contracts? Most likely,...unless you specialize in it, it's difficult to say how. That is unless you try to run from it, but that should be kept as a last resort. The important thing to remember is that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. This is the phrase that underlines this short by director Kyle Finnegan.

When a guy hires a professional assassin to kill his father for greed, nothing but the obvious gets thrown right back in his face. Again, with Kyle Finnegan directing, the subtlety of his work is prevalent. Starting out with what seems like a friendly viewing with Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World playing in the background, turns out to get rather grim. However, it does revert back to its friendly atmosphere later on to demonstrate the phrase stated before about equal and opposite reactions. As for writing, Finnegan and two others wrote the story. The characterizations are more or less two dimensional, but this helps give the viewer an understanding of the extremes people can go to without any development beforehand.

Acting wise, the most notable of the three is Terrill Bailey for his portrayal as the hit-man with a deadpan conscience. His performance is very nonchalant but also unpredictable. Again, this all goes back to how contracts have tight grips on the people who sign them. When it came to behind the scenes, editing was competently done. Cinematography provided by Drew Shaw was clean and bright,...perhaps to somewhat represent what a contract paper looks like? A possible deeper meaning? The only technical issue clearly visible was the transition between rigid and shaky camera film shooting. Consistency is necessary in film, so when going from traditional style filmmaking to what feels like a "found footage" genre movie, can distract viewers. Other than that, the sound mix was appropriate. Overall, it's an interesting look at making deals and the dangers they can cause.

As another short in director Kyle Finnegan's filmography, this story about greed shows that for every gain, there's a loss. The most notable character was Terrill Bailey's performance as the hit-man along with solid editing. The camera-work and characterizations could've used some honing.