From Omeleto.
A man gets an unexpected rider.
RED VELVET is used with permission from Kevin Staake. Learn more at https://kevinstaake.com.
Blaze is an actor living in Los Angeles on his way to a callback after an initial audition. Nervous and anxious, Blaze leaves his apartment and drives to the audition, trying to psych himself up on the way.
His concentration is interrupted when he discovers a homeless man named Kyle has been sleeping in his car. Blaze is surprised and indignant at first, but when he gets unwelcome news, his commute turns into an unexpectedly insightful journey that opens his eyes beyond his daily concerns.
Directed and written by Kevin Staake, this funny yet resonant short dramedy could conceivably fall under the category of a road film, where a physical journey becomes the conduit for a character’s internal change. Shot with a visual dynamism that enlivens the close confines of the car, the journey may be a simple commute on the busy streets of Los Angeles, but the ride becomes a discovery of common ground, connection and gaining perspective.
Blaze is introduced as an archetypal Los Angeles actor trying to find a foothold in the perilous entertainment industry: he’s attractive, stylish, a little slick but earnest. He listens to affirmations; he’s laser-focused on his audition for a part as a "James Dean type" that will make his career. But when he discovers an amiably oblivious homeless man named Kyle sleeping in his backseat on the drive, his concentration is broken and he’s upset.
Kyle is part of a growing unhoused population in the city, many of whom have taken to sleeping in unlocked cars. Blaze struggles with what to do. He wants to make sure he gets to his audition, but he wants to drop off Kyle, seeing him more as a nuisance. But when Blaze gets a disappointing call from his agent, they begin to talk.
Their dialogue is clever and often has fun with the glibness of Los Angeles, and actors Nikolai Nikolaeff and Aiden Bristow, as Blaze and Kyle, respectively, lightly play up the oddness of the situation and the wit with a spiky understatement. But when the two men both realize they have more in common than they thought — including losing out on work because of obsolescence — they truly begin to bond, finding empathy for one another.
RED VELVET winds towards its mellow, wry and wistful ending as it subtly shifts into a more naturalistic, more socially observant register. There are still plenty of sharp observations, but the layered writing also draws a parallel between the two men, who are not so different in many ways. Both Blaze and viewers get the sense that, if not for a few strokes of luck and access to resources, they could be in the same place of struggle. The film keeps an even keel, its dry humor refusing sentimentality and its smarts recognizing that losing a role isn’t the same as losing a roof. But it is steadfast in its belief that humans can meet one another in a place of kindness, decency and compassion, however far apart they are on the surface.
