Ricochet
Ricochet
Directed by Tim Earnheart | Review by Antonio Rozich
Even a remotely skilled filmmaker who has a couple of films under their belt can create a thriller that will keep you at the edge of your sit and put it into 10 minutes. But if for some reason you decided to add SF, action and comedy to the mix without sacrificing the thrill, would 10 minutes be enough? If you ask Tim Earnheart, the director fo Ricochet, the answer is one big yes. Ricochet starts like any other thriller: fast cuts and pumping music that create the first vital sensation for the viewer: confusion. What seems like your average home quickly ends up being a madhouse where nobody seems to know what's going on. For you as a viewer that a good thing, that means there's something to explore. But for the two main characters, Ana and the unnamed girl, that's probably not the go-to option - especially when you have lunatics with automatic guns and crazy masks knocking at your door. Earnheart thoughtfully packs everything a good thriller introduction needs in the first 2 minutes. This way the ride is ready for the audience to take, no setbacks on the schedule - we are ready to go.
And then we are introduced to the next scene and boom! You get the first shot of excitement as the story goes deeper and deeper while you still haven't fully put your movie-watching mittens on. Not only does the plot progress at an exciting rate but unexpecting SF elements start lurking through the film that's dangerously approaching half of the film timestamp. Roughly a bit more than 5 minutes to go and you're wondering how can all of this be resolved in the following 5 minutes. In a way, it's a thriller inside a thriller that breaks a specific 4th wall you never even knew existed until now. And that's the 4th wall of filmmaking that isn't sourced in the storyline or even the characters itself, but in you as the viewer. The rush the characters are feeling, you're likely to feel as well.
Best of all, during all of the action and horror happening, you get the privilege to chuckle. Imagine as if you are running from a blood-thirsty monster you know will kill you if you let it catch you. Somehow as you're screaming and running for your life, you find the time to let out a subtle yet joyful laugh. I can honestly appreciate that since in no way were the funny scenes and comments needed for Ricochet to work, but it's exactly because of these small scenes that the film is even better and it manages to stand out. Don't get me wrong, in thriller terms, Ricochet is in no way breaking new grounds. It actually isn't even cracking new grounds, but it's highly likely it isn't even trying to do that. The film tries to deliver what a thriller should deliver, but it also takes the freedom to step out of line ever so often and it works perfectly.
Even the ending isn't anything extraordinary that will make you go to every social media profile you own and write how awesome it was so everybody knows - you won't. But in the sea of "try hard" movies that try to be Godfather without the dirty work, it's so refreshing to see a short film that does what it's almost destined to do. I know, "destined" is a big word, but every film has its destiny - that is, if we make a sudden switch to existential philosophy. As for Ricochet, the director allowed the film to fulfill it's destiny from the beginning to the end. If you need a good short film to entertain you for 11 minutes with a healthy dose of adrenaline-pumping action, Ricochet will provide all the amusement you need. As said, everything in the film happens at a supersonic speed. From the first to the last second you're barraged by scenes happening, music playing, actors running, explosions and a constant feeling of confusion scratching you somewhere at the back of your brain. You barely have the time to think but you still manage to muster the power to ask yourself yet again: "What is going on here? Who are these people and how will this end?" For that dear viewers and film enthusiasts, you'll have to check Ricochet by Tim Earnheart for yourself.
Antonio Rozich is as a copywriter who enjoys dangling into fiction more than anything. From film scripts to audiobooks and flash fiction - he rarely rejects an opportunity to either write his original story or help somebody improve theirs. Besides his usual copywriting, he also helps filmmakers with their screenplays by editing them and finding ways to improve the initial filmmaker’s idea.
