Michael Dunn’s impressive short film focuses on two men, Henry (Lou Diamond) and James (Walt Turner) who pass The Girl (Courteney Gardner Stavros) back and forth between the dingy apartments they occupy. The two men are in the middle of a bet to see which room the girl will die in. Chained and gagged, The Girl can only wait whilst the two men (or some other forces) decide her fate.
The Bet, which had its world premiere at Cinevegas in June, is a visually impressive debut from Dunn with great set design and production values, excellent cinematography and impressive atmosphere. The cast also do great jobs, considering that they don’t have 90 minutes to flesh out their characters.
There are many subtleties to be found here, such as a wall of clocks and flashes of footage which hold the key to what’s going on, so viewers need to pay attention and think in order to fully understand, or at least attempt to interpret what’s happening to The Girl.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The Bet is a visually impressive film which is open to interpretation and one which reveals its secrets upon more than one viewing. I for one am excited to see what Dunn achieves when he inevitably directs his first feature length film.
