Film Review: Fade (4/10)

A heartwarming concept with some room for technical growth.

Fade is a 2021 short film written, directed, and starring Leonel Severino. It also stars Jonathan Marte, Juvian Marquez, Chris Anthony Hernandez, and Jon Noto in key roles. The film portrays a day-in-the-life at a Latino barbershop that turns sinister with the arrival of a mysterious client.

STORY (1/2)

TThe tone of Fade is established right from the jump and it makes for an immediately welcoming experience. Obvious comparisons can be made to the Barbershop films of the early 2000’s but with Latino sabor. The film then proceeds to take a darker turn as the plot starts to unravel.

The biggest hindrance to this film’s story is its runtime. In my humblest of opinions, a short film shouldn’t be any longer than 20 minutes max. Anything longer than that (but shorter than a 60+ min feature) can feel like a bloated yet incomplete experience. The plot and character dynamics would be far better suited with room to breathe in a feature film capacity.Another concern with Fade’s story is its POV. The film’s official synopsis places the focus on Severino’s central protagonist, Leon. And though that becomes more true as it goes on, that fact isn’t immediately clear from the beginning. Fade could have benefited from a stronger commitment to Leon’s perspective from the outset –  allowing for more empathy towards his needs and frustrations. 

VISUALS (1/2)

The visuals of Fade can be hit or miss depending on the scene. It does feature some solid framing and a creative use of the plentiful mirrors found in a barbershop. Though it’s certainly not distracting (other than a few gags with practical effects), it’s hard to interpret any significant meaning from the way it frames the actors in most of its sequences. There’s also a palpable frustration derived from the film’s editing techniques. Too many clips fade to black and rely on transitional time jumps than should be normal for a film of this length.

SOUND (1/2)

I can’t deny that my biggest gripes with Fade are in the audio department. Though the sounds of reggaeton and dembow are surely welcomed as the film’s backdrop, they’re offset by inconsistent mixing. This results in uneven bass kicks from the soundtrack that either distract or completely take away from the scene’s focus. The recording quality of the dialogue also leaves a lot to be desired as ambient room tones and reverb come and go between shots with no motivation.

CHARACTER (1/2)

As mentioned in the beginning of this review, Fade has a wonderful cast of characters that inhabit the world of this barbershop and community. The locals engage in regular trash-talk over dominos while others make misguided attempts to holler at passing women. Regardless of how you feel about cat-calling in today’s day and age, it’s authentic to this experience and makes the world feel lived-in.

Each of the main characters in the shop have a unique style to them. They have hallmarks in their costume design and dialogue that help them stand out from each other. The only downside is that we don’t get to fully explore these characters due to the runtime of the short. It makes them feel less memorable and more one-dimensional as a result with no clarity to their motivations or desires. I’d be lying if I said I remembered the names of most of the characters.

FACTOR X (1/2)

Fade has a ton of promise right from the start. The vibrant cast of characters and culture make me feel at home. The inclusion of 2v2 dominos, hookahs, and bootleggers hits all the marks to draw you in with its authenticity. Production quality issues notwithstanding, the world of Fade’s barbershop is one I’d love to spend more time with and would welcome in a more polished feature film. 

It feels like I’m being unreasonably harsh in my criticism of Fade. At the end of the day, it’s a film completed by a team who seemingly enjoyed their experience putting it together. That’s what gives it warmth and promise while simultaneously being some of the reasons for disappointment. With a greater refinement on the technical execution and character focus, I have no doubt that it would’ve perfectly fused the best of Barbershop’s vibes with its sinister plot ideas.

FINAL SCORE: 4/10

Where to Watch: Youtube