Chase Kuertz’s short film In Aggression does a good job of masking its narrative to protect against too much predictability or lack of mystery. For much of the film, we don’t entirely know why John is keeping information regarding his wife’s killer from the cops. Was it truly a tragic accident, or something else? Regardless, what does John ultimately plan on doing with what he knows, or thinks he knows, due to his own investigation? The final question is what gets addressed before the film wraps up, so I’m not about to reveal that here, only that it both is and isn’t what you would expect to happen. Cryptic? Yeah, but the ambiguity comes mostly from the short, not from me trying to be cute. In Aggression looks good and presents a layered tale in a simple enough, yet high quality, fashion. It’s mostly an opportunity for Wynn Reichert to showcase his acting chops, and he continues to impress. Arguably the majority of the ambiguity of the film might not just be in the narrative itself, but in the subtle, conflicted layers of Reichert’s performance; this is meant as a compliment to not just Reichert’s skills, but also those of director Kuertz for knowing when to let things breathe.
This film was submitted for review through our Submission for Review system. If you have a film you’d like us to see, and we aren’t already looking into it on our own, you too can utilize this service.
