Writer/director Ryan Jamison's short film Also Patrick creeps up on you with its impact. It's a film that you swear is going one direction, then suddenly Jamison wisely takes an intelligent, thoughtful, and surprisingly logical detour that amplifies the film's impact and leaves you more than a little blown away by its understated, authentic power. 

The film stars Jamison as Patrick, a shy and introverted young man who attempts to overcome his insecurities in an effort to improve his social status by moving in tighter into a group where he's struggled to belong. From the moment we're introduced to Patrick, it's clear he's more than a little bit of an outsider in the group that includes Jackson (Trevor Adolf), Tobey (Josh Goodman), and Cole (Josh Tevlin). When they persuade Patrick to make a move on his longtime crush, Anita (Bianca Salamis), things don't go quite as planned and Patrick hightails it to the nearest bathroom where he drowns his miseries in alcohol and exits with an alcohol-fueled sense of extroversion and social swagger. All is well, it would seem until he stumbles into a bedroom where Cole is on top of Anita putting on a condom. 

You probably think you can predict the rest. Go ahead. I dare ya'. 

Also Patrick is an engaging, involving short film led by a low-key, equally involving performance by Jamison. While the film's early scenes aren't anything we haven't seen before, Jamison is here to tell a meaningful, powerful story and that's exactly what he does. The rest of the ensemble cast is strong, as well, with everyone nicely avoiding anything resembling histrionics and keeping the action low-key throughout the entire short film. 

Josh Goodman's lensing for the film is intuitive, a key scene filmed just right to add a little mystery to everything else that unfolds and giving the film's closing scenes quite a bit more impact. Quin Voth also edits the film quite effectively. 

For more information on Also Patrick, visit the film's Facebook page linked to in the credits. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic