Production Diary: Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean, 2012)

Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean, 2012) is a 13-minute short film concerning a pair of professional safe crackers who embark on a heist to rob a safe from an office. However, the alarm system immediately kills the lights, obliging the duo to meticulously learn the layout of the room beforehand.

Maclean employs a number of techniques throughout the film in order to create meaning. Choosing to film in black and white symbolises the moral ambiguity of the characters and perhaps places the film as a homage to classic noir crime dramas. The setting of the film is highly authentic and grounded in reality, the only main locations being a warehouse, a pub and the office with the safe. This separates the film from high-octane heist flicks seen within mainstream cinema, and informs the viewer that it should be taken somewhat seriously. The heist itself is filmed entirely in darkness, encouraging the viewer to exclusively direct their focus on the diegetic sounds of both the dialogue and sound.

Throughout the linear three act structure the film utilises, the primary focus that the film attends to is the development between the two main characters, displayed to the viewer during the pub scene. Through an array of humorous jump-cuts which transition between the characters taking part in leisurely activities such as drinking and arm-wrestling, we soon learn that Michael is much more sincere and reserved, whereas Liam is headstrong and often insensitive. The dialogue during these scenes are both snappy and authentic, further adding to the grounded tone that the film adheres to. During this, it is revealed that Michael’s father abandoned him at a young age, which later becomes a vital plot point of the film.

The two characters arm-wrestling, the white backdrop juxtaposes the black and grey clothes worn by the pair

The ending of the film is rather ambiguous, during which Michael purposefully activates the alarm by lighting a cigarette. I believe the implied meaning to be that Liam is in fact Michael’s dad that abandoned him and Michael leaving him to be caught by the police is his enactment of revenge. This shocking twist allows for an unexpectedly dramatic resolution to the film and releases the tension created by the two minutes of darkness prior.

Personally, I enjoyed Pitch Black Heist to a relative extent. I particularly appreciated the grounded tone and authentic dialogue that the film had to offer. However, I believe that the plot itself was relatively disengaging until the final scene and also found the characters to be relatively uninteresting. The film demonstrated to me how shooting in complete darkness can both save time for the filmmaker and force the viewer to direct their attention exclusively on the soundscape.