NR | 1h 32min | Drama, Crime, Thriller | 18 November 2022 (USA)
Based loosely on the eight-minute 2015 short film “Double Cross,” “The Pay Day” is a great example of why most short films aren’t adapted into features. Even at a scant 92 minutes, it feels stretched, padded, and overlong by more than half.
Both productions were directed by Sam Bradford and written by the two leads (Sam Benjamin and Kyla Frye) and it receives a bit of a legitimacy bump thanks to the inclusion of esteemed character actor Simon Callow (“Amadeus,” “Four Weddings & a Funeral,” “Shakespeare in Love”) in an extended cameo.
Also in a glorified cameo is veteran actress Ellen Thomas (the BBC TV show “EastEnders”) as Ms. Boomer, the unscrupulous owner of a London IT company who, when the movie opens, is in the process of firing IT specialist Jenn (Frye: think a fuller-figured version of Zoe Saldana). Although it is not made clear, it would appear Jenn is a subcontractor who has performed a lengthy, complicated, and successful job yet Boomer doesn’t want to pay her….