Sonic Cinema

Sounds, Visions and Insights by Brian Skutle

Crossing Paths (Short)

Grade : B+ Year : 2015 Director : Paul Medico Running Time : 12min Genre : ,
Movie review score
B+

Jimmy is a tough guy in the ring. He’s not a big-time boxer, but he can hold his own. His personal life, though, has been rough of late, as he’s been giving in to booze and drugs and women a little too much. Now, he’s getting ready for a fight, and his wife Amanda has some news for him that might help put things in perspective. His most recent fight in the ring, though, doesn’t go that well, and it leaves a strain between Jimmy and Mickey, his trainer, when Jimmy insists he doesn’t need him anymore. Maybe he does, though, after having an unexpected conversation with a janitor after the fight.

Written by John K. Fiore and directed by Paul Medico, “Crossing Paths” opens with a familiar boxing film image of a bloodied boxer’s face hitting the canvas, with the gruff voice of their trainer echoing in their ears, but “Rocky” and “Raging Bull” this is not. Actually, there are some elements of both in the story, I suppose, but this is really about how one man realizes life’s not just about him, and how even the most stubborn fighters have to ask for help every once in a while. It’s quite a message, and while I wouldn’t say this film delivers it as hard as other films have, it does have a rich convergence of story, emotion and style that makes it land it’s punch when all is said and done.

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