A man talks himself into the most unspeakable act in DJ Higgins’ dark thriller, Loved. Joseph Sernio plays Harold, a distraught husband who just found out his wife is having an affair. It’s just Harold in his truck yelling…screaming at a picture of his wife, Hannah (Debby Gerber). He replays every argument that has led to their estrangement, except this time, he knows exactly what to say.
Upon entering their RV, he barges in on Hannah and her lover, Jimmy (Will Raver), in the throw of passion. Harold can only respond one way. This isn’t going to end well.
“…Hannah and her lover, Jimmy, in the throw of passion. Harold can only respond one way. This isn’t going to end well.”
In Loved, emerging filmmaker DJ Higgins takes advantage of the short film structure to tell a dark tale of jealousy and revenge. The story is one of escalation. Higgins starts Harold at a heightened level of anger and just builds from there. The drama occurs in the truck, where Harold replays that failure that is his life and marriage. The guilt and rage build from there to its logical conclusion.
Higgins also does what many indie filmmakers do and that is to tell his story in the desert. He condenses his script to the important story telling elements. Now, add to it a small cast, and simple sets like the cab of a truck and the inside of an RV. Using a big of CG for the violence and Loved tells a solid story of revenge.
Loved is one of those examples of taking a story that’s been playing in your head for a while and put it on film and push your skills of storytelling and filmmaking to make it compelling.
For screening information, visit the Loved official website.
