Trains Short Film Review (2019) – Missing Wallet Story

(This is Trains short film review, which is a short film of a man that has his wallet missing that was released on Vimeo)

Have you ever experienced missing your wallet in the train before? I’m sure such occurrences are pretty common among your family, friends or even yourself. Trains use that as the base of its story, and then goes in a way of Tarantino style.

It is directed by Robert Priel and stars Jordan Theodore, Michael Camacho, Garrett Hendricks and Elizabeth Burge. Now, let’s get into the Trains short film review below to see how well it fares utilising such simple premise.

Premise

When a man realises he loses his wallet when bumping other passengers on the train, he calls his best friend and then begins to spill out his emotion. But what is the truth behind the story?

Trains Short Film Review

Premise

Story wise, it’s really that simple. The whole film revolves around two characters, with one complaining about his missing wallet and the suspect which he believes has stolen it. And the other is a more rational listener trying to understand the situation.

It’s not a film with a big twist, but the twist is pretty predictable

It’s not a film with a big twist, but the twist is pretty predictable. However, the story does not seem to be the main star of this film. No, it’s actually the characters themselves. So, in this department, it earns lower score due to the simple premise and predictable plot. However, it gains some brownie points of utilising simple premise concept to create an engaging film itself.

Pacing/Visual

Pacing is pretty alright that it does not bore me halfway. There are some flashback near the end that helps to break the monotone flow in the diner. However, the scenes in the diner are pretty interesting themselves, so it’s not really a big problem.

Trains short film review friend — The classic Hollywood look

Visually, this looks very Hollywood-ish, with that trademark teal and orange look. Hell, if I’m just shown the screenshot, I would believe it to be a pretty big budget film. However, one thing I realised is the inconsistent lighting.

For example, in some scenes, the characters look quite dark, but in other scenes in the same spot, they seem to have been brightened up. If this is fixed, then it would truly look like a short film with high production value.

If this is fixed, then it would truly look like a short film with high production value

Characters

Trains short film review man talking — The great chat

Now, we are onto the main stars here. The short film feels similar to Quentin Tarantino’s style, where dialogue takes the centre stage. Now, normally I loathe films with too many dialogues, as I felt that it defeats the purpose of ‘Show don’t tell’ mindset of a filmmaker. However, in this case, the film actually manages to keep me interested solely with the dialogues.

The actings are really on point, and the actors themselves perform excellently

How do I put this? Well, I feel that the actings are really on point, and the actors themselves perform excellently. Their expression, body languages, and talking tones really enhance the talking scenes, making for some great watching experience. The conversation feels natural, yet also subtly dramatised to make them more interesting than they should normally.

Trains short film review man staring — The piled up anger

All in all, this is one of the rare films where I actually enjoy the talking scenes, and it almost approaches the level of Quentin Tarantino. Though of course, it could have more room for improvement to reach that level.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack is basic music played in the background of diner, with some old jazz and stuff. They do not stand out, but is really appropriate for the film tone and mood. Thus, it gains higher mark in this department as well, despite being low-key.

Trains Short Film Review (2019) – Missing Wallet Story

Story

Pacing/Visual

Characters

Soundtrack

Reader Rating3 Votes3.75

What's good

Great visual on par with hollywood movies

Excellent acting performances of the two leads

Natural conversations with subtly dramatised dialogues

Greatly appropriate soundtrack

What's bad

Premise is predictable

Lighting for the actors are inconsistent

3.9

Pretty Good!

Trains boast a hollywood visual with Tarantino-style dialogue!

Trains is one of the few films that nails the dialogues part, and make me enjoy a film where dialogues take over 90% of the scenes. If the premise could be made more unpredictable, or with the inconsistent lighting solved, this could well be a masterpiece that will soon reach the work of Tarantino.

[Trains short film review score table]

Author Details

Author Details

Anthony L Tjandra

An everyday guy who is the founder of Controller Companies. He started it when he was frustrated to find that the stuff he bought had no reviews available online. Thus, this website is created with the sole purpose of reviewing stuff that he has seen, bought, used or enjoyed! Now, he is probably doing another review while you are reading this.