Stepping Out, a sharp, shocking short film by Vincent Liota, plays on the New
Haven-based public-access network CTV (Storer Channel 33) at 10:30 p.m.
Friday, June 25. The crime psychodrama gives CTV a rare dose of professional-
level serious drama, though the heavy emotional issues (abuse of women, police corruption, casual killings) are mingled with '40s-style melodrama and gigglish comic asides.
The story is divided into four chapters, revolving around the activities of the abusive small-time hood Bruno, though that character remains in a stupor on the floor for most of the action. The real star is Bruno's paramour Gina (Linda Manning), who begins Stepping Out by attempting to do just that-leave the no-good Bruno for good. Somehow before she gets the chance, a few shots are fired and bodies start piling up in the bathtub.
Liota produced, directed, shot and edited Stepping Out, pacing it to a jaunty jazz-based music soundtrack composed by Pat Keogh. Liota packs a lot into his 28-minute movie, set in a decrepit urban apartment reeking of sex, violence and mystery. High production qualities are evident in the acting, set designs, sound effects and particularly in the editing, which cuts menacingly from one tension-soaked image to another:
A gun. A bathtub. A window. A large sum of stolen money which nobody can find. A "Do not Disturb" sign. A photograph of Gina and Bruno in happier times. A bullet which leaves a hole through that photograph, through the wall behind it, and through Mr. Mitchell (Tony Santacroce) the next-door neighbor. A tell-tale stream of blood. A darkened hallway. And an elevator which symbolizes freedom.
The images are reminiscent of classic Cornell Woolrich or James Cain crime fiction, and the brooding brood of local actors might as well be Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford. The style is film noir, but the dialogue is unexpurgated modern-"I'm going to f--k you and I'm going to kill you, but not necessarily in that order," growls the Sidney Greenstreet-esque thug Pauly (Robert Mooney), hovering over the prone Gina as her hand scrambles for a hidden handgun.
An old television set becomes a pivotal piece in Stepping Out's puzzle, just as CTV is giving useful public exposure to Liota's work. Colorful and crassly gorgeous, Stepping Out is a step in the right direction for the diverse but predominantly amateurish CTV programming schedule. If the channel can give Liota's low-rent masterwork enough play, and encourage more work of this caliber, it'll provide a real shot in the arm for community filmmaking and not the kind of shot which bloodily eviscerates a guy in the next room.
-Christopher Arnott
-Christopher Arnott
