Misperception – Short film review

★★★★

Directed by: #CalvinGreer

Written by: #CalvinGreer, #NormanDGoldenII and #FelixCrumsby

Starring: #NormanDGoldenII, #ParneshaIngram and #JeffWilliams

Short film review by: Brian Penn

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Occasionally life permits us a glimpse of the future; more importantly it offers a stark choice between the paths that might be taken. Misperception is a brief but disturbing account of a young offender in rehabilitation. Quantrel (Norman D Golden II) is a moody charge for hard bitten street cops Thomas (Parnesha Ingram) and Sadowski (Jeff Williams). Labelled as a PD Cadet Quantrel resents the implication he might have crossed the line. Boys from the 'hood taunt him with barely concealed menace. But one night reveals the life and death that awaits if he doesn't change his ways.

In the space of eight minutes, Quantrel moves from belligerence to submission as reality hits him squarely between the eyes. The narrative pulls no punches as a litany of crime stretches into a seemingly endless night. Thomas and Sadowski grow more sympathetic towards Quantrel as he feels consumed by violence and destruction. His only job was to accompany two cops on night patrol and carry the yellow tape that surrounds a crime scene, but he could so easily have been the victim. By the end of this film you sense its job done for the law enforcement authorities. Quantrel won’t go anywhere near a gang nor will he pick up a firearm in anger; or so we think?

Annoyingly, we don’t get to find out. Misperception is screaming out for a sequel as we need to know what happened to Quantrel. You desperately hope he went straight and a young life was saved from an early grave. But it also portrays a brutal reality and grim realisation that we don’t always get the happy ending.