There is nothing more interesting in short films than revenge. We love to see it in movies as it boosts the overall premise and makes the characters push their limits to a place where nothing could stop them from being the most they can be. When there’s a matter of revenge, a character is going to that special place Harvey Dent was talking about in the famous Batman film – die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

 

In ‘The Role of a Lifetime’ a woman kidnaps an old man in what appears to be an abandoned building. She has strong motifs to be angry about him, and so she needs her revenge. What is really interesting, however, is to see how this whole revenge plot is developed: we learn that they had their dispute for quite a long time, and he was one abusive and powerful man, as it turns out from her speech. Now, the roles changed – he is tied up in a chair, with tape around his mouth, paying the price for his sins.

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The role of the woman, played by Véronique Picciotto, is simply astonishing! We’ve rarely seen such performances in short movies – powerful, inspiring, in other words – impeccable! The revenge plot is what Joker would have done in any of the Batman blockbusters; it has the visual narrative explosion that could be featured in any type of superhero movie, right before the story's turning point. The ending is surprising, and we couldn’t have imagined it going like that in the narrative, mainly for the reason that the whole development of this film was going on a clear path. Director Marc Saez therefore turned all the anticipations we had upside down and delivered an ending worth watching. ‘The Role of a Lifetime’ prepares you for the unexpected... but are you up for this journey?

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Written by Vlad A. G