STARRING
Erik Bloomquist, Madeleine Dauer, Nicholas Tucci, Adam Weppler, Graham King, Alec Richards, Alex Sarrigeorgiou, Ben Santiago WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
Erik Bloomquist RUNNING TIME
25 Mins. OFFICIAL FACEBOOK
"The Cobblestone Corridor" an Entertaining Neo-Noir
Neo-noir is brought vividly to life by writer/director/star Erik Bloomquist in his entertaining 25-minute short film The Cobblestone Corridor, a film that weaves together everything we know and love about neo-noir and plants it all on a contemporary school campus. Allan Archer (Bloomquist) is a rather arrogant editor-in-chief of his prep school newspaper whose journalistic integrity doesn't exactly win him friends and fans. He is one who is committed to truth, quite often at the expense of decorum, and when he gets a tip that there may be more to the English Department Chair's termination he sets out to solve the mystery.
The Cobblestone Corridor at times reminded me of Rian Johnson's Brick, though Bloomquist certainly manages to make this a film with his own artistic voice. The film is an obvious homage to 40's crime classics like The Big Sleep with language and style of delivery unmistakeably evoking that time period and style of filmmaking. It's a unique approach that for the most part works thanks to Bloomquist's ear for dialogue and his cast's ability to maintain a consistency of the tone.
Mike Magilnick's lensing is solid throughout The Cobblestone Corridor and manages to take advantage of advances in technology without completely abandoning the film's noirish roots. Gyom Amphoux's original music serves as a perfect complement to the film, while Melanie Hardy's production design is disciplined and inspired.
Of course, much of the credit for the success of The Cobblestone Corridor must go go Bloomquist himself, who manages to write, direct and star in the film with equal success. Bloomquist creates a character you can't help but like even though he's completely unlikable in most ways. He's joined in the fine performance department by Nicholas Tucci, whom most will remember from his appearance in the indie horror flick You're Next, and the impressive Madeleine Dauer among others.
The Cobblestone Corridor is a film that I respected more than I can say it really grabbed me. I had fun with it, though most of that fun was watching how Bloomquist managed to maintain a consistent tone while setting the film contemporarily. For more information on the film, visit its Facebook page linked to in the credits to the left of this review.
