A dark yet entertaining 11-minute thriller from writer/director/star Nick Pellegrini, A Dirty Job is the sort of short film that may not necessarily qualify as completely cohesive but it does qualify as a bit of a mind-blowing short that is likely to stay with you long after its closing credits have rolled by.

The film centers around Mike (Pellegrini), who has a brutal run-in with a drunk thug (Bland Brifkani) before promptly being arrested by an almost equally brutal cop (Al Burke). Though sprung from jail by his attorney, Mike loses his work-visa and has to scramble to land a gig at a taco joint from hell. Things don't go quite as planned, however, and before long Mike is in an even bigger mess than before.

Pellegrini jams a heck of a lot into a short span of time, but he also manages to pace A Dirty Job quite nicely so that it never feels rushed or draggy. He paints the film in muted colors, giving A Dirty Job a look and feel that would make Tarantino proud and would be right at home along some of Tarantino's more grindhouse tendencies.

A Dirty Job was shot by D.P. Lance Johnson a 24-frame, HD "film-look" process developed by Johnson. Even if you don't know what that means, you should know that you're really going to enjoy the look of the film. Isn't that what really matters, anyway?

For a lower budgeted film, Pellegrini went all out in terms of location with scenes taking place everywhere from the dark alleys of Burbank (Yes, Burbank has dark alleys!) to the streets of Hollywood and the desert plains of Inyo County. The film has a sort of urban western thing going on, so much so that you half expect to see a tumbleweed floating across the screen.

Pellegrini has cast the film well, ranging from his off-kilter spin as Mike to Al Burke's brief but memorable appearance as The Cop and a nice turn by Mario Hernandez, whose restaurant El Chile Taqueria served as one of the film's key locations.

A Dirty Job is a film practically made for the indie film fest circuit, and the film did capture 2nd Place at the Palm Beach Shorts Film Fest. For more information on the film, visit the A Dirty Job website listed in the credits on this page.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic