I saw dozens upon dozens of shorts throughout my tour on the film festival circuit last year and "Micks Out" stood among the best. Be it the acting, writing, directing, cinematography, the movie delivers an 18-minute cinematic experience that surprisingly offers nuanced, three-dimensional characters.
Much of that should be credited to the actors, all of whom bring their A-game as they walk the tight-rope between slice-of-life and tragic drama. Actor Joe Coffey carries this film from start to finish and I hope to see more of him in films to come.
When touching on the immigration crisis, the movie wisely stays away from politics or polemics, choosing instead to focus on the characters and their multi-faceted dilemmas. There's really no "good" guy or "saint" or "demon" to point at, just people with different paths intersecting and all the pain that brings.
