Out Stretched Hands

Out Stretched Hands imagines a sadly common altercation, in the United States. Its soft immersion into the normal night of two friends leads to a painful tragedy, which will haunt viewers long after its short runtime ends.

Caleb (Devon Grevious) and Junior (Quan Moore) and old friends embarking on a normal night. Both have ties to the local drug trade, but their conversations revolve around family, friends, hopes and dreams. They notice a car following them, and prepare for a confrontation with rivals. But when it is revealed that it is a police officer (Conor Lucey), both understand that a different threat now exists.

The entanglement of police violence and racism in the US is a societal blight. So often it is the innocent actions or pleads from victims that become rallying cries – ‘he can’t breath’ in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder or ‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ in Michael Brown’s. ‘Out Stretched Hands’ echoes such phrases, as a demonstration of how police bigotry is an inherent cause of such events. Caleb and Junior are not portrayed in this film as squeaky-clean, but their efforts to comply and negate threat are met in response with fear, anger and suspicion – leading to an avoidable and intentional tragedy.

Tayvon Bradford’s script comes with a hard edge. Caleb and Junior’s bond is established quickly and convincingly through their vulgar banter. The effortless injection of their personal lives within the dialogue quickly details their background and the complexities of their relationship, such as Caleb’s admiration for Junior’s sister and each’s opinion on whether the risks that come with their lifestyle are worthwhile.

Similarly authentic are Nate Reynolds’ direction and Chris Rivera’s cinematography, which immerse the audience in dark and foreboding city streets, in which the pair’s car is the only source of light. The red lights of the cop car that illuminate the vehicles interior are the first signs of warning, and Caleb’s decision to leave the car is what proves to be a sadly fateful one.

Grevious and Moore demonstrate a playful bond that gives room for moments of both drama and comedy in the film’s opening. They each bring their own shade of cool, both able to give and take jokes at their expense, but touch on deeper questions about their characters’ lives. It quickly builds their profiles and relates the pair to the viewer. This is of course essential to deliver the blow of the finale, in which an interaction with a police officer escalates to devastating results. The tension in this scene in built well, and viewers will be shaken by the outcome. If there is one major mark against the film, it is in the flat response of Moore’s character to the officer’s actions – which falls short of the emotional stakes and pulls the audience out of the immersion at the worst possible time.

Out Stretched Hands is powerful short that asks familiar questions of its viewers. Its power comes from its protagonist's imperfections – by building real people with real lives it counters any narratives that the reactive and violent actions of people are justifiable.