There
is no better training for murder than the traditional one-set, five-character
stage thriller. Just ask Sidney Bruhl in Death
Trap. Maybe he isn’t such a good example, but Michael learned from the
best: Dame Agatha. Years ago, his late friend Neil directed a hit summerstock
production of The Mousetrap,
featuring several of his selfish so-called friends. To settle scores, Michael
will move the homicidal shenanigans from the stage to real life in David Palamaro’s
Murder Made Easy (trailer here), which screens
during this year’s Dances with Films, in Hollywood, CA.
It
is the one-year anniversary of Neil’s death, but Michael and his widow Joan
have clearly not moved on, despite the obvious sexual tension percolating
between them. They both bitterly resent the betrayals of his friends, such as
the hammy Marcus, whom is expected for dinner shortly. When he arrives, it is game
on. Henceforth, there will be twists and turns, shifting loyalties, and a
mounting body count.
MME is clearly a fond
homage to old school stage and film thrillers, such as Death Trap, Sleuth, and Wait
Until Dark. It directly refers to The
Mousetrap, but Michael’s Nietzschean pretensions also clearly echo Rope. In any event, it is a great deal
of fun watching Palamaro and his on-the-money cast drop one shoe after another.
Co-leads
Christopher Soren Kelly and Jessica Graham nicely carry the picture, appearing
on-screen together nearly the entire way through. Yet, they still manage to
surprise us. Kelly (who was also terrific in the criminally under-heralded Infinity Chamber) is all kinds of
sinister, but he also makes the most of some wickedly droll dialogue
(especially when skewering the hippy dippy Cricket). As Joan, Graham is a femme
fatale to die for.
You
expect to have reversals and revelations in a film like this, but Palamaro and
screenwriter Tim Davis still manage to fool us through some clever magician-style
misdirection. It is a neat single-location thriller that will be especially
entertaining for viewers that appreciate the tradition. Highly recommended, Murder Made Easy screens tonight (6/14),
as part of the 2018 Dances With Films.
