By Simon Thompson
Writer/director Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby’s The Beguiling is a beautifully shot, fittingly tense, and concise short film that keeps you on the edge of your seat across its fifteen minute runtime. In a media landscape where short-form storytelling has become something of a lost art it is always refreshing to view something that gets its story and point across at the speed which it takes to make a sandwich. While The Beguiling is not without its flaws it is still an assured enough effort that is worth your attention.
The plot of The Beguiling focuses on the end of a date between two Native Americans living in New York City named Billy (Benairen Kane) and Riley (Kim Savarino). After Riley invites Billy back up to her apartment, ostensibly for coffee, Billy ends up staying much longer than he initially planned, as the two bond over shared cultural differences and similarities from their respective tribes. As the evening rolls on however, it becomes increasingly apparent to Billy that Riley is not what she appears to be.
The cinematography by Shaandiin Tome is the jewel in this short movie’s crown. Tome’s use of tight angles and close ups, as well as the bold and inviting colour scheme of the apartment setting do a wonderful job of juxtaposing the comfortable intimacy of the location with the visceral horror of the events which are unfolding.
As good as this short looks visually, the script by Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby itself is pretty awkward and clunky in a lot of the extensively dialogue-heavy scene, which, as sad as it is to say given the strength of the visuals, does put somewhat of a dampener on the viewing experience. The conversation the two characters have, used by Shane McSauby to build tension throughout the narrative, doesn’t exactly give Elmore Leonard a run for his money when it comes to naturalistic depiction of speech.
While the two leads both give solid performances in their respective parts, they are sadly let down by the script’s ponderous dialogue, with Benairen Kane’s performance as Billy coming across as the more affected of the two. While Kane is not a bad actor, he is clearly struggling more with the cumbrous dialogue than Kim Savarino, whose gestures and mannerisms help to paper over the script’s many cracks.
Dialogue issues aside, The Beguiling is a snappy, thematically interesting, and intense short that is still worth your time even if you just want to gawk at the cinematography by Shaandiin Tome the entire time.
The Beguiling screens as part of SXSW Film Festival 2025.
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