- Director: Brea Grant
- Writer: Brea Grant
- Stars: Angela Bettis, David Arquette, Chloe Farnworth
Review
When Mandy (Bettis) a drug snorting nurse who is part of a side gig – trafficking organs. When her cousin loses a kidney in transit, a series of events domino and culminate in a double shift for Mandy that she won’t ever forget.
From the get-go the dark, sardonic nature of 12 Hour Shift is evident, the film’s first conversation is a perfect example of the snark that you can expect throughout the film. It is also so darkly funny, that it almost becomes absurdist and that’s just part of the fun of 12 Hour Shift.
Bettis is fantastic as Mandy, weary, drug addicted and somehow in something that she doesn’t quite know how she got into but the pay is good. Farnworth is a whirlwind as Regina, sass talkin’ and not so bright but she provides a lot of the dark comedy in the film, a fly in the ointment of… everyone.
Grant establishes her style and this is really well directed and the writing is even better. Luring the audience in with a typical indie malaise style understating the events that are happening on screen until it gets to a point of chaos. Sometimes it’s quiet chaos and when required it goes full on nuts. Grant’s script provides us with a quick snapshot into the nurses work and she paints a picture of an over worked and underpaid profession, Mandy is not doing nursing for the money and even on a relatively quiet night the nursing staff is undermanned, so over her 12 hour shift she rarely would get a moment to herself. Nurses are the backbones of hospitals and they should definitely be paid more than they are.
A black, black comedy of errors, 12 Hour Shift is definitely one that you should seek out when you can.
Played as part of the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival
Ryan Morrissey-Smith | Twitter: @TigersMS
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