Loanshark (film)
| Loanshark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jay Jennings |
| Written by | Jay Jennings |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | Charles Santore |
| Music by | Jay Jennings |
| Distributed by | Indie-Underground |
Release dates | December 10, 1999 (Premiere) August 2000 (Home video) |
Running time | 80 min. |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000 |
Loanshark is a 1999 black-and-white American drama film written and directed by Jay Jennings that chronicles the stressful life of a vicious money collector who drives around Hollywood looking for deadbeats who owe him money. The film's "in-your-face" camera style and use of real Hollywood locations made it a notable forerunner in the digital filmmaking movement.[1]
Plot
Teddy Greene is a street-level loan shark who cruises the streets and alleys of Hollywood, California in his ‘75 Cadillac, seeking out anyone who borrowed money from him. Teddy has a tendency of getting excessively violent when someone doesn’t have all of his money, sometimes beating them up in broad daylight or simply putting their hand in a garbage disposal. In contrast to his job, Teddy has very little control of his personal life. His nagging ex-wife continually shakes him down for child-support payments and his new girlfriend is a non-stop pain in the ass. If that isn’t enough, Teddy’s fast-talking and scheming father wants to take him to Las Vegas for a weekend of gambling.
As the pressure builds, Teddy has no choice but to take out his frustrations on his frightened clients. His mob boss, Mr. Stone, disapproves of his actions, resulting in a warning to tone things down or else. His old friend, Charlie, a retired hitman, sets Teddy up with plane tickets to Miami to get out of town to cool off for a while. Unable to change and unwilling to leave, Teddy takes the tickets but tells his mentor only that he'll think about it. As expected, things only get worse.
After punching out a crooked cop and being robbed of his collection money by an Asian hooker, Teddy desperately tries to make up for the loss of the money. He even shakes down a junkie priest and steals his wallet! With no options in sight, Teddy decides to take Charlie's advice and leave town, but when he finds out that his old friend’s been murdered by Mr. Stone, Teddy, fueled by vengeance, bursts into his boss’ home during a birthday party and holds him at gunpoint in front of his family and friends, knowing his only way out is to pull the trigger.
Production
Produced for $10,000, Loanshark was made using handheld digital movie cameras and available light, with film look added in post-production.[2] The low-budget film was shot guerrilla filmmaking style among old Hollywood buildings and streets, including local motels, bars, alleys, city parks, and parking garages.[3]
Reception
Films In Review columnist David Del Valle called Loanshark “a gritty crime tale in the manner of Bad Lieutenant.”[4] Film Threat described it as "on-the-move filmmaking that avoids cliché storylines."[5]
Loanshark screened at several film festivals in 2000, including Silver Lake,[6] and Melbourne Underground Film Festival.[7]
References
- ^ Bernard, Ethan (2000-03-02). "A Life in the Movies: Beverly Hills director Jay Jennings shares secrets of his trade". Beverly Hills Weekly. p. 8.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Davidson, Ben (1999-09-10). "BH Resident's New Film Unearths Seedy Life of Loanshark". The Beverly Hills Courier. p. 1.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Amiran, Eyal (2001-01-03). "Guerrilla Filmmaking". Los Angeles Independent. p. 1.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Del Valle, David (2005-06-01). "Camp David: June 2005". Films in Review. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ Bertoldo, Brian (1999-06-09). "Loanshark". Film Threat. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ Amiran, Eyal (2000-09-20). "The Silver Screen comes to Silver Lake". Los Angeles Independent. pp. 2–3.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Melbourne Underground Film Festival". (2000-07-22). Retrieved 2010-09-02.
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