The Date (Short)
We start with a man, alone at a table, in a diner at night. He is in his own world until a woman comes in. He has been waiting for her, but is still surprised by how she looks. An exchange is made, and he’s nervous about what’s going to happen between them. He’s never done this before, but she is reassuring. It is time to leave the diner.
Alessio Cappelletti’s short film is a terrific example of writing a scene with enough detail to hold our interest, and still maintaining some element of surprise with what is taking place. It helps that Michael Gonza (as Vernon, the guy who is waiting) and Marybeth Paul (as Alice, the one who comes into to diner) play the scene just right to make us think we know what’s going on, and feel for what these characters are doing. It’s hard to do something like this really well; Cappelletti makes it look easy.
