There's a pretty good chance that those of you familiar with the criminally underseen Lars and the Real Girl will find yourself thinking about the film as you watch Killing Stacy, a 12-minute short film written and directed by Chris Purnell.  The story centers around Sarah (Lynsey Crawford), a young woman who has a plan to get her girlfriend Claire (Carol Renfrew) back. There's only one obstacle, Claire has found herself a brand new and shiny girlfriend named Sarah.

While Killing Stacy certainly has hints of Craig Gillespie's film, you can rest assured that it is a beast all of its own with less quirk and more of a comic sensibility than the Ryan Gosling led film that was quirkier and more introspective than this film. Fortunately, this film does feature a couple of film performances from the duo of Lynsey Crawford and Carol Renfrew, the former doing a nice job of projecting the surprise within her discovery and Renfrew doing a really nice job of projecting a sincerity about it all.

Killing Stacy is hindered somewhat by the inherent technical limitations that come with producing a low-budget indie short. At times, the film's natural darkness adds a mood at times that contradicts the film's more humorous tone. While that inevitable limitation hurts the film, it doesn' sabotage the fine work of D.P. Pete Harper and composer John Curran.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic