{"id":11338,"date":"2015-03-17T20:34:03","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T03:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviesharkdeblore.com\/site\/?p=11338"},"modified":"2020-08-22T11:46:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T18:46:09","slug":"the-light-shines-brightly-on-filmmaker-christopher-dinunzio-with-under-the-dark-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/reviews\/the-light-shines-brightly-on-filmmaker-christopher-dinunzio-with-under-the-dark-wing\/","title":{"rendered":"UNDER THE DARK WING shines a bright light on filmmaker Christopher DiNunzio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Film noir is not only alive and living, but thriving with a unique religiously toned sci-fi bent,\u00a0 thanks to writer\/director Christopher Di Nunzio and his latest short film, UNDER THE DARK WING.<\/p>\n

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Directed by DiNunzio and co-written with Pedro Alvarado, UNDER THE DARK WING is short and sweet and to the point.\u00a0 Where DiNunzio truly excels is with his visual storytelling thanks in large part to his work with his longtime cinematographer Nolan Lee.\u00a0 Together, the two create a tonal bandwidth that enthralls.\u00a0 Harnessing the noir qualities of storytelling and celebrating the power of dark and light, harsh spotlights breathing life into half-faced shadows create a metaphoric duality of dark and light, good and evil, heaven and hell which strong lighting contrast in exteriors imbue emotional and visual texture.\u00a0 No words need be spoken with Lee\u2019s calculated lighting and framing.\u00a0 A picture truly is worth a thousand words when seen through Lee\u2019s lens.<\/p>\n

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And it\u2019s the visual power of that multi-leveled duality that set the stage of the story as Johnny Boy, right hand to mob boss George, battles his own demons while doing George\u2019s bidding.\u00a0 Despite Johnny\u2019s drug addiction, it seems George has given him second chances at \u201cemployment.\u201d\u00a0 Unfortunately, Johnny botched the latest job, allegedly due to \u201ca girl.\u201d\u00a0 Not an acceptable excuse for George, as Johnny Boy tries to explain what happened, rather than hear the excuse, director DiNunzio provides flashbacks.\u00a0 We watch the events unfold.\u00a0 We see a man hidden in the dark shadows of the street.\u00a0 We see Johnny Boy with gun in hand, ready to shoot.\u00a0 But then a young pregnant girl appears and speaks.\u00a0 We hear her clipped, over enunciated, Old English religiously cadenced text break the silence as she asks Johnny for help.\u00a0 And in the blink of an eye, as Johnny says \u201cyes\u201d to the young girl, a blinding flash of light appears, and we are back in George\u2019s darkened basement office.<\/p>\n

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Not believing Johnny\u2019s fantastic tale, George makes it clear that the girl was a witness and must be taken care of.\u00a0 When Johnny reels at the thought and says he can\u2019t eliminate her, George sends one of his other men out to find her while Johnny finds himself alone, racked with guilt over George wanting to kill a girl, and turns to his addiction for relief.\u00a0 As Johnny spirals into the depths of hell with his inner demons, the girl is brought to George.\u00a0 In a face-off between good and evil, darkness and light, punishment and retribution, heaven and hell, George and the girl go head-to-head with George\u2019s street smarts and anger battling something much stronger and more powerful in a battle in which only one can prevail.<\/p>\n

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David Graziano is perfection as George.\u00a0 A commanding 1930’s Italian mafioso presence, Graziano easily slips into the role with mobster magnificence with an honest intensity that feels authentic.\u00a0 Standout is Fiore Leo who, as Johnny, brings emotional texture and conflict to a literal and figurative black and white world. In just these brief 14 minutes, Leo touches the heart, making you feel Johnny\u2019s pain and anguish and hoping he finds peace.\u00a0 Sadly, Jessy Rowe misses the mark as \u201cThe Girl\u201d.\u00a0 Rowe\u2019s performance feels out of place with her facial expression, although trying to remain expressionless but with forceful stare, fails due to the over-enunciation and diction of the dialogue.\u00a0 As long as she is silent, however, Rowe creates an air of mystery.<\/p>\n

With UNDER THE DARK WING, the light shines brightly on Christopher DiNunzio as a filmmaker and storyteller.<\/p>\n