“TALK” starring Detroit’s Tony J Black ( Sting; Apples Never Fall) is a drama delving into the nuances of love, communication, and the mysterious impact of silence. The narrative unfolds through the complex dynamics between characters, exploring emotional connections and the unspoken aspects of relationships. As the story meanders through intimate scenes, it gradually reveals the main character’s struggles with communication and the consequences of having unresolved conflicts in his relationships. The evolving plot touches on isolation, education, and transformation, leaving the audience to contemplate the intricate dance of human connections.

Review by Victoria Angelique:

The importance of communication in a relationship is the focal point of the short film TALK. The story begins with Henry and Elizabeth meeting, with her thinking his admittance to being a man of few words is endearing, quickly changing to annoyance once they live together. She wants him to talk when they have disagreements, rather than just shut down and leave. 

Henry has a friend, Eric, that also tries to emphasize how important communication is in a relationship. The narrative shifts focus to begin showcasing a deeper portion of Henry’s personality, how being an introvert can also cause him to shut others out of his life. This leads him to a depression where he can’t even take care of his home, as laundry and trash begin to pile up around him. He needs someone in his life to be able to take care of himself, but that would involve being able to compromise and learn how to talk through relationship issues without thinking it makes a man “soft” as he told John 

The very implication of it talking makes a man weak suggests that Henry’s quiet nature is a learned behavior. Someone taught him that men should walk away, rather than work through solutions. Something in his past indicates that it is what made him an introverted man and that it is better to avoid confrontation rather than fight. 

This film takes another approach that most short films do not, it takes Henry stumbling upon Lisa’s opinion of the fight. She’s doing the same thing with a man named James, trying to figure out where she went wrong. 

This is a beautiful film to show that there are two sides to a fight and that it is possible to resolve them. It just takes honest communication.