‘The Cobblestone Corridor’ Short Film Review

The indie short film The Cobblestone Corridor is a neo-noir mystery set at an upscale preparatory school. Our protagonist is Allan Archer (Erik Bloomquist), the no-nonsense editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and the prep school equivalent of the classic noir detective.

The plot begins when Archer is working late one night and receives a visit from Elizabeth “Lizzie” Merriweather (Madeleine Dauer), a fellow student and prep school equivalent of the classic femme fatale, who sets him to solving the case of Dr. Peter Carroll, the English department chairman who was recently terminated under suspicious circumstances.

What unfolds is a somewhat predictable mystery yarn with a considerable amount of nods to the noir genre peppered in. As mentioned, you have your detective and your femme fatale, but you also meet the shady snitch who takes the form of a student (Adam Weppler) selling bootleg test answers from his office in a public bathroom stall.

One cool visual nod to the genre is during an early scene when Archer is reclining in his seat and gum is visible on his shoe. Gumshoe, get it? Awesome. But this is, unortunately, quickly ruined when Archer and Lizzie begin their noir-heavy back-and-forth, in which she outright calls him “gumshoe” and he refers to her as “doll face.” Paying respect to the noir genre is obviously the goal here, but the multiple anachronistic throwbacks in the dialogue will likely make eyes roll. If her nickname was “doll face” (bad example) or there were other subtle homages, similar to the clever use of gum literally on his shoe, the film would have been more unique and interesting.

Cobblestone Corridor 1

The acting is rather sub-par as well. Though most scenes were handled competently, none of the characters were particularly engaging. Bloomquist as Archer largely comes off as pretentious and grating, which keeps the viewer from ever being invested in his success.

Dauer, though cute, exudes none of the mysterious allure expected of a femme fatale. But most disappointing of all is the severe lack of chemistry between the two leads. Sexual tension was obviously written into the script, but it never shows up in the film.

In regards to story, the relatively low-stakes of the crime is appropriate for the setting and age group. The intended demographic for the film is unclear, but it feels like watching The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, or a similar mystery story for young readers/viewers. This is not meant to be derogatory in any way; in fact, it renders the film appropriate for all viewers.

Mostly, Bloomquist deserves credit for wearing so many hats. He wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in The Cobblestone Corridor, and in most of these efforts he was successful. His acting is less than stellar (though not abysmal) and the script could have used some work, but his directing and especially editing are top-notch.

The camera work and musical score are the outstanding highlights of the film. Expert framing, transitions and scene cuts: the camera work is professional-grade throughout. Mike Magilnick (credited with cinematography) and the editing team did an excellent job.

Cobblestone Corridor 2

The musical score is also of professional caliber; all background music is appropriate in tone, volume and duration. Many indie films fall short here, as the score can become obtrusive or jarring, but Gyom Amphoux (credited with music) did a great job creating a score that blended seamlessly with the story.

Ultimately, as with many indie films, the end result, plays like a film student’s final project, though one still worthy of an A+. Attempts at imitating noir dialogue may fall short, but some banter works well (like Archer defending the relevance of newspapers in today’s society) and the story is at least cohesive, if not particularly engaging. The camera work, score, and editing are great and the writing and acting are at least competent or better throughout.

Despite its flaws, The Cobblestone Corridor proves the skill and potential of those involved. It is far from perfect, but still impressive for a small budget indie film. Anyone in the industry looking for new talent would do well to consider Magilnick, Amphoux, or Bloomquist for future projects.

Someone looking for pure entertainment (and not in the film-making biz looking for talent) will want to look elsewhere. In the best light, the short film plays almost as a pilot for a series, and the idea of watching Archer tackle more in-depth cases in a series geared towards young viewers could be interesting, but as a stand-alone film it falls a bit flat.

BRAND PARTNERS
Recent Posts