Written and directed by Adam Dailey and Ryan Dailey, a man, down on his luck, visits a fortune teller with the hopes of a big score, only to discover that while fortune smiles on some, it may lead to destruction for others. Starring: Timothy J. Cox, Diane M. Strohm, George R. Hildebrand, Jay Buchheim, Tommy Stevison and Patrick Lamba.

Straight off the bat there’s a strong sarcasm from Timothy J. Cox’s Todd and it nicely sets the tone for what’s to come for Unfortunate Fortune. Having Cox establish this intense, fractured personality right from the beginning creates an excellent foundation for the short. He creates sympathetic and entertaining qualities to this unpredictable protagonist, and really boosts the film’s sense of humour and its frantic atmosphere.

Adam Dailey and Ryan Dailey’s directorial style then complements that by taking a little inspiration from old-school noir, and classic film’s penchant for dramatic thrillers. It’s an interesting hybrid as Unfortunate Fortune still feels very much in present day, blending the current with the past. There’s also a lot of great use of camera movement to embrace that unsettled edge. That’s in turn supported excellently by the editing work, which helps to keep things moving really well.

The progression is definitely a big strength of Unfortunate Fortune. There’s always something very satisfying about watching a film, particularly a short film, that has its timing down to a tee. It moves in a way that helps it build that dark comedy vein to it, while never straying away from the dramatic side of things. The only weakness is the ending, while thematically the ending is fantastic, the way that it plays out visually is lacking.

They missed the opportunity to end on such a sharp note and instead chose to go down the flashback route which overexplains the plot to the audience. There’s no need to bring it full circle in an overt way because there’s very little chance that the viewers won’t have understood what happened and over-explaining it only weakens the impact.

Unfortunate Fortune is well written, shot, acted and paced. Timothy J. Cox leads the way with an entertaining, intense performance, and is well supported by Diane M. Strohm and George R. Hildebrand. The cinematography is solid, the direction has a great energy, the story plays out really well, and it’s a satisfying watch. It’s just a shame that one final choice lets it down, and it didn’t have the confidence to go out with a bang, or more appropriately, a flash.

Verdict: ✯✯✯✯ | 8/10