The Guard (Short)
Mark Battle’s short film, “The Guard,” starts off on an image of the main character, Denny (Bryan Veronneau), feeding his new child. This is revealed as a vision, and his wife, Emma (Erika Thormahlen), finds him awake, seeing how he is doing. Denny is a security guard who has been anxious about being a father. He goes to confession, works as much as possible to put food on the table, and he…tosses their knives in the lake? He’s clearly concerned for his unborn child’s life, and he’s concerned what he will do. This is a simple dilemma drama from the director of “Here Lies Joe,” and it’s a powerful dilemma the holds our attention quite well as he makes choices seemingly from a selfish, anxious perspective. He doesn’t feel like he can communicate his fears to his wife, and that is what makes where “The Guard” ends up so painful. This is a 13-minute exercise in anxiety and it’s tough to get that final image out of your head. It shakes you up.
THE GUARD Teaser Trailer from Sweven Films on Vimeo.
