#wired shut

SYNOPSIS: Reed Rodney is a disillusioned bestselling novelist. He is recovering in his remote mountain home from major reconstructive jaw surgery, leaving him unable to eat anything he can’t suck through a straw or talk. He is surprised by an unexpected visit from his estranged daughter and decides to open up his home to her. By doing so he places himself in jeopardy to a life-threatening secret.

REVIEW: Filmmaker Alexander Sharp’s WIRED SHUT is an interesting mix of an Agatha Christie and Stephen King novel. The film is shot in an interesting location and features three actors, one of whom is Blake Stadel as Reed Rodney. Stadel must convey thoughts and emotions without the benefit of dialogue as the character with the wired jaw.

Sharp’s screenplay, unlike a Christie or a King story, lacks any substantial background to these characters in order for the viewer to be fully emotionally invested in the drama and peril. The plot does offer the viewer small bits in the third act into Reed’s character and his relationship with his daughter Emmy. We get a sense that Reed has not been a good father, much less the ideal husband. Still, for all his flaws we learn through deposition I never felt that there was something there to push his daughter over the edge to go to extremes. Given the dire circumstances and what Reed goes through this viewer couldn’t shake off feelings of sympathy for the character. Plus, without the ability to speak he is unable to defend himself against these indictments and to a large extent remains a victim and never achieves an anti-hero status.

The daughter and boyfriend character are equally as thin in terms of their characters and the boyfriend becomes more of a clinched stereotype. He does have a monologue where he provides some insight into his actions and motivations but it seems a bit psychotic. It had me questioning how something didn’t show up in his relationship with Emmy to trigger warnings. The character devolves into this hysterical maniac that seems incapable of concocting any time of sophisticated plan, much less what this simple breaking and entering should have been.

Spoiler Alert! The film’s epilogue offers little in the way of closure or character insight. The experience has helped Reed with his writer’s block, but the manuscript, given the size of the document, appears to be a novella that he has specifically written for Emmy, possibly because it is the only way he can communicate as his jaw is still wired shut come the end of the film.

Natalie Sharp plays Emmy. She is a veteran actress with credits that include TV’s “The Flash,” and the reboot of “Beverly Hills 90210.” She does a capable job as Emmy but I just didn’t feel that there was enough content on the page to give the character any real gravitas. Likewise, she does convey a sense of pain when reveals the trauma her father caused, but she never emotes anything that would lead the viewer to believe she was driven to these actions. Actor Behtash Fazlali plays Emmy’s boyfriend Preston. A seasoned actor with appearances on such popular shows as “Arrow,” iZombia” and “The Magicians,” he definitely goes through a roller-coaster of emotions. He does a fine job with the role, but again I think the character is lacking on the page and he just goes to an extreme that plateaued. He sustains it and it begins to feel a bit cliched. Actor Blake Stadel has to carry the film as Reed Rodney. Not only is he the central character but he has to convey everything about this character without any dialogue. He does a fine job of bringing a variety of facial expressions and emotes through his eyes that provide the viewer with insight into the character’s emotional state. It's a solid performance that renders WIRED SHOUT worth a few. Still, it feels a bit lacking narrative substance for the character.

Filmmaker Alexander Sharp is wearing five different hats on this film. The editing and the production designs are solid, and I think much of that is due to the location they secure. He and his cinematographer get a lot of coverage on the house and mix up the framing so that they sustain an engaging energy to the film. I felt that the direction of the cast could have been expanded and that would have also required a bit more depth to the script. Many of the key moments and background information felt inconsequential, simply facts that we need to be provided with in order to buy the plot, but rendered in a way that did not fully engage the viewer.

I believe WIRED SHUT is a film that suffers from a filmmaker taking on too many jobs on the project. There are elements that work, some more successfully than others. It’s an interesting premise but lacks a depth of characters. Actor Blake Stadel delivers a performance that makes the film worth a viewer, while the other performances come up short due to insufficiencies in the screenplay and a lack of direction. There is a level of artistry to the production that leaves curious to see what Alexander Sharp might deliver if he wore a few less hats and focused on one or two disciplines.

CAST: Blake Stadel, Natalie Sharp and Behtash Fazlali. CREW: Director/Screenplay/Producer/Editor/Production Designer - Alexander Sharp; Screenplay - Peter Malone Elliott; Producer - Peter Malone Elliott; Cinematographer - Martin Taube; Score - Oswald Dehnert & Rayshaun Thompson; Editor - Blake Simon; Production Designers - Peter Malone Elliott; Special Makeup Effects Artist - Joel Echallier. OFFICIAL: N.A. FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/wiredshutmovie TWITTER: twitter.com/wiredshutmovie TRAILER: https://youtu.be/Zb9jBmePQUo RELEASE DATE: Digital and VOD November 30th, 2021

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay),  or 👎 (Dislike)