-Written by Kyle Bain.
When a prison guard, Hannah (Mary Rose Branick), and a prisoner, Quinn (Emily Sweet), find themselves stranded in the woods with no gas, waiting for someone to save them, they quickly realize that they aren’t alone. From Writer-Director David A. Flores, Pit Stop explores humanity in a unique and interesting way, showing the world what it means to be genuine and honest.
These two women, on opposite ends of the moral spectrum, are forced to lean on one another, forced to see the humanity in the other. That’s effectively the purpose of Pit Stop, to express that humanity exists in each and every one of us, even the ones that possess a rough exterior. What Flores does well in his script is leave much of these women up to the imagination—giving very little away in terms of background, or even why they are in these positions. Rather than provide viewers some elaborate backstory that may sway their opinion one way or the other, Flores keeps the characters simple. One is good, one is bad—at least that’s how the world would typically see them. We are sort of forced to see them each as singular things, rather than dynamic beings—and that provides us the chance to see that humanity in them going forward.
Additionally, having been stranded in the middle of nowhere, the set is simple, taking us nowhere, forcing us to hone in on the two characters on screen. They effectively fill the screen throughout the course of Pit Stop. With little else going on in the background, Branick and Sweet, along with their characters, are presented the opportunity to thrive.
There is a supernatural/science-fiction element present in Pit Stop, one that works to propel the plot and the development of these two characters. However, I’m not sure that this was the best decision. Much of the film relies on simplicity, and I believe that this is the film’s key to success. Why not focus on some natural phenomenon, or simply an impending storm to develop the characters? The sci-fi bit seems to be something that Flores likes to dabble in, and I get that–it’s a signature of his. However, I wish that he would have more closely adhered to his idea of simplicity in this regard in Pit Stop. While the sci-fi aspect of the film is short lived, I sort of wish that it didn’t exist at all.
Pit Stop is a powerful film that explores the human psyche and the humanity that exists in all of us. Though it steps outside of reality for a moment, the majority of the film uses simplicity to tell a story, to reel in viewers. When Pit Stop begins to dabble in science fiction is when it starts to lose me, just for a second. For the majority of its five-minute runtime, Pit Stop is beautiful, an honest look at reality. Had it remained on that path through its entirety, I believe that it would have been more successful as a whole. And, while the addition of science fiction certainly doesn’t ruin the film, it does knock it down a peg or two.
Written & Directed by David A. Flores.
Starring Emily Sweet, Mary Rose Branick, etc.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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