Total Performance (Short) 2015

For a short film to be a success, it needs a really catchy, clever little story and Total Performance is the perfect example.

“Cori is and actress, but her main gig is something a little bit weirder. She works for a company that employs actors to play opposite real people who want to rehearse a difficult conversation. A breakup, a firing, or even an embarrassing confession: the company that she works for provides a living, breathing “sparring dummy” for their clients.”

Total Performance presents us with a totally unique storyline and is pretty slick. The acting is solid, the editing is tight; basically, it’s everything you could want from a short. I’d go so far as to say it’s such a good, quirky premise that it has the potential to be a success as a feature one day but whether that’d happen, who knows.

The film opens with a depressed looking man, Cori enters the room and the pair have a fiery argument in which it becomes apparent that she’s cheating. Only she isn’t, because she’s only acting. This neat little twist is so perfectly executed at just the right moment, near the start of the film, and sets things off to a great start.

Overall Total Performance is a refreshing short film; just 17 minutes long. It packs a real punch and the story is unique, surprising and highly entertaining. Really my only criticism would be that it doesn’t go on for long enough. Lead character Cori, played by Tory Berner, has great potential as a feisty female lead and it’d be great to see the story unfold a little further.

A fantastic foray into short filmmaking and well worth checking out; it’s available for free on Vimeo, so there’s no excuse!

A Films and Things rating of 4.5!

Total Performance from Sean Meehan on Vimeo.