SPARTAN

The writer-director Pierre "PJ" St Jean Jr believes in the style of filmmaking where the cast and crew associated with the film completely trust the vision, he has. Pierre "PJ" St Jean Jr adopts the one-shot technique to allow the audience to get involved and engage with the content. Alex Bernadotte, Shylah Soares, and Demetrius D. Denis understand the nuances of the storyline and amplify the emotional impact with their respective portrayals.

The plot of SPARTAN revolves around an embattled street brawler’s brief moment of victory is quickly overshadowed by an unravelling of his chaotic personal life.

SPARTAN opens up with a combination of a close-up and mid- shot of an ongoing fight between the male protagonist and his opponent followed by various snippets of his life to showcase the challenges he faces in an attempt to sail through all the responsibilities Mack has been entrusted upon. The set design, lighting, camera angles, colour pallet, sound, music, dialogues, costume, hair, makeup, and props have been kept natural to complement the subject matter and add realism and relatability to the narrative so that the viewers can learn from the movie and apply the lessons to their real lives.

In terms of performance, Alex Bernadotte plays Mack who loves and cares about his loved ones dearly and is ready to do anything to provide for them due to an unforeseen situation in the family but forgets a few essential things while becoming very busy with his duties towards the mother as well as the sister. Bernadotte effectively switches between aggression as well as emotions to balance his character arc in SPARTAN. The outfit change is a clear demarcation between the different mindset of the character with each fight utilised by the actor/ makers to communicate the intrinsic details of the storyline to the viewers.

Shylah Soares who plays Nasira Mac’s girlfriend is lovely inside out loving and supporting him with every decision he makes, and also takes care of his mother and sister. She is a strong girl ready to fight to protect him in every situation. Soares exudes qualities, the nuances in Nasira that define what a relationship between a couple should look like. Shylah Soares with her portrayal brought the soft side as well as the strong side of Nasira so effectively that it gives strength to their bond and bring about the best in Mac.

Demetrius D Denis plays the role of Tremaine who is the Villain in the story. He vents out his anger and aggression on others to deal with all problems life has thrown at him. Mac is the only person who can counter his anger. The chemistry between Tremaine and Mac makes the conflict intriguing therefore keeping the hooked to the content.

SPARTAN talks about the need to be fearless for the family in every given situation because life doesn’t give one the freedom of choice. The short film reiterates that people require to always remember their human side even though they are under immense pressure of responsibilities as well as duties. The cinematic piece briefly touches upon the gender roles engraved by the society and how they prove to be detrimental to the people living in it.