A Public Ransom (now available online)

Review by Matt Finley

Let’s face it: it’s easier to forgive a homegrown, low-budget indie that fails to cut the mustard than it is a multi-million-dollar studio faceplant that annihilates all notions of passion in art. That having been said, A PUBLIC RANSOM, an artsy black-and-white mystery described by director Pablo D’Stair as a “slow burn character-study cum psychological-thriller in the spirit of the works of Patricia Highsmith,” cuts precious little mustard.

Based on a short story written by D’Stair, RANSOM follows self-obsessed, malcontent author Steven (Carlyle Edwards), who, after self-destructing his marriage, finds a crudely drawn flier with a phone number and a crayon-scribbled message: “HLEPP ME?” An indifferently curious call to the number leads him to Bryant (Goodloe Byron), a fellow writer who claims to have kidnapped a random child, who he will release if Steven ponies up $2,000. Steven initially regards Bryant’s claim as no more than a sick joke, but things start getting weird when Bryant suddenly begins dating Steven’s best (and only) friend Rene (Helen Bonaparte).