Direction: Jerrod Carmichael
Country: USA
In actor-director Jerrod Carmichael’s suicidal black comedy, On the Count of Three, Kevin (Christopher Abbott) and Val (Carmichael) are best buddies, both heavily depressed and on the verge of pulling the trigger of their guns pointed at each other’s heads. This agreed double suicide would put an end to their infinite sadness, severe traumas, and general hopelessness in life. Yet, before ending it all, the plan suddenly changes to homicide when they decide to fix some stuff related to their past.
The style, redolent of some works by Jim Jarmusch and Hal Hartley, is pretty effective, while the story, thrilling and unpredictable, comes from the pens of Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch. The incredible chemistry between the acting duo also contributed to the amazing results. This crazy-killer fun is no effort to watch, and besides delivering sly social commentary, it poses pertinent questions that are worth asking, even when clear answers are not possible. For instance, how hard is it to talk about racial stuff in an appropriate way? How much does it hurt to be ignored? Why most health professionals deal with mental illness so ineffectively?.
Abbott’s performance is counterpointed nicely by Carmichael. This is your chance to see them going nuts. Madness and reason play cat and mouse in a gratifying mess with the ability to extract ‘inappropriate’ humor from tragic situations.
