Dream Girl: A Thriller Packed With Drama & Lessons For Those Going Astray

Jeremy Max’s Dream Girl is sensational, tantalising and frightening, all at once. What could possibly go wrong with opting for an escort service, one would imagine? Plenty, as writer Ryan Delouya would have you know. Leave most of the predictable outcomes aside and you have Max’s 26:35-minutes long Dream Girl present an alternative, almost psychedelic experience. When an unhappily married Ben (James Parenti) takes his friend’s recommendation for an escort service, little does he know what’s kept in store for him. And, what makes it even more interesting is the favourable outcome it presents for his wife Jane, played by Elliot Frances Flynn.

The film opens to a loving Jane cooking a sumptuous breakfast for them both. Busy, disinterested and perhaps utterly bored with the routine, Max wastes no time in letting his audience know of the couple’s dilemma. Their dynamics, body language, the predictability of their comments and potential fights–all, the hallmarks of a relationship that has endured many winters is plain to see. If the acting is subtle, then Jake Horgan’s cinematography makes it even easier to understand the slow boiling of their temperament.

A relationship of their kind and time would soon reach a breaking point is predictable, but the real turning point comes when Ben decides to reach out to the escort service in a desperate attempt at spicing his life. While the story in itself presents plenty of opportunity to add layers of suspense and drama, Josh Kane’s editing makes it even more absorbing and engaging. Add to that, Grady Tesch whose composition makes Dream Girl riveting right until the climax.

That Max chose a cyclic narrative is not lost to the keen eye. The flip in the dynamics of the characters, the choices made in the end, a fitting tribute to how life can unfold with the choices we make makes Dream Girl thought-provoking. Without giving away any spoilers, the short is an interesting take on fidelity, commitment and the human need to not conform to the norms. While largely remaining dramatic, Max does his best to make Dream Girl a psychological thriller.

Watch Dream Girl Short Film