Jim Novak (Bingo O'Malley) hasn't been a good man. Living out his last few years of life in his daughter's (Adrienne Wehr) home, Jim is increasingly reliving the horrors of his past - the people he's hurt, abused, neglected, and otherwise. As he begins confronting these very real memories, the threats of his present suddenly become very real.

Written and directed by Barak Shpiez, Inheritance is a thought-provoking nearly fifteen-minute short film weaving together Dickensian themes alongside Hitchcockian outcomes to produce a short film that is both anxiety-inducing and difficult to shake. Shpiez, more widely known as a television composer, has crafted a film here that is simultaneously broad in scope yet intimate in the way that everything plays out. The film starts to lose its way just a little bit about 2/3 of the way through, but Shpiez brings it all back in focus with a powerhouse closing that will leave you thinking and talking about it for quite some time.

Inheritance is just beginning its festival run and is scheduled to appear at the 2015 Cannes Short Film Corner, no small achievement. Bingo O'Malley's central performance is one of quiet discipline, a performance that is both emotionally resonant and enveloped in a rather devastating resignation. As his daughter Adrienne Wehr wears the look and feel of a woman whose baggage is immensely heavy. The rest of the ensemble cast is, for the most part, quite fine.

Inheritance is a consistently good film that never quite crosses that line into greatness, but it's a memorable film that serves notice that Shpiez should have no problem transitioning from composing to directing should he so choose.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic