"Common Decency": A Macabre Meeting of the Exes {Short Review}

There comes a time when relationships come to a crossroads and the couple either make up or break up.  If it is the former, the relationship moves forward, if it is the latter, the relationship comes to an end.  When the relationship ends, more often than not, there is anger and pain between the two parties but, through time, they both find a way to heal and move on with their lives.  This is not the case with the short film Common Decency.

Common Decency - Teaser Trailer from Caroline Bloom on Vimeo.

​Beth (Caroline Bloom, who is also the writer of this film) confides with her Therapist (Deborah Lacey) about the hurt, anger, and frustration of not being invited to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding.  The Therapist tells her to perform self-care on herself and to feed her soul, not hurt it and to let her anger float away.  Beth finds self-care by going to her ex-boyfriend Joe’s (Adam Hagenbuch) house.  After some uncomfortable conversation, Beth confronts Joe about her not being invited to the wedding to which Joe tells her they have grown apart and he has moved on with his life and that she should do the same.  Beth’s response comes in the form of a wedding gift turned abduction with Beth and Joe having their own therapy session with an unexpected twist.

This film is well fleshed out due to Caroline Bloom’s writing along with the direction of Stefan Dezil and editing of Courtney Hope Thérond.  The music composed by JoAnne Harris gives the film a carnival feel which enhances the film as it takes you on this strange and twisted journey.

Freud once stated that depression is pain turning inward but, in this film, the anger turns outward to the benefit of this macabre tale of a broken bond gone bad. 

Common Decency was screened in part with the Charlotte Film Festival.

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Author

Paul Grammatico was forbidden to see graphic films as a child and limited to edited TV movies, Paul received his horror information second hand through stories from older friends and siblings. He also vacationed in a desolate cottage, raised in houses with creepy basements, and lived in an apartment with a “full torso apparition”.Inspired by his experiences, Paul is a multi-award-winning screenwriter with an affinity of the weird and unexplained.