Memphis Calling

As the surly warehouse manager on "The Office," Craig Robinson, who usually receives phone calls, embodies a completely different character, a Texas inmate named Memphis. This time, Robinson makes a phone call that alters two people's lives, even if for just a couple of minutes.

The film begins, far away from Memphis in his cell, with the camera shooting across the inside of a crammed sedan stuck in traffic in Los Angeles. You start to feel a bit claustrophobic when the camera first reveals self-help books, vitamins and food wrappers across the dash and floor of the car, but you can sit back into your seat when you see a calm woman at the wheel, humming with the radio, as she drives in stop-and-go traffic on the Mulholland Freeway.

The woman, Donna, played by Salli Saffioti, is waiting for an important call from her doctor, and she jumps when her cell phone rings. However, it is not the call she is expecting but something entirely different – Memphis. He sits in his cell in Texas and, when she tries to hang up on him, convinces to stay on the line for just a few moments of comfort. When she asks who he meant to call, he says, "Whoever answers."

"Memphis Calling" accurately portrays the encounter between two people who have never met, over a phone call. Donna speaks sharply to Memphis, as any person would do to a man calling collect from a state prison, but soon finds herself telling him all that is on her mind, and why she is so eager to get off the phone. Memphis is relaxed, juxtaposing Donna's nervous and neurotic behavior.

Though the film does not go into great detail about the lives of Donna and Memphis, it does not need to. "Memphis Calling" is a simple, short film showing two strangers, both in tough situations, who are able to help each other just by listening to the other's problem. The movie ends when the phone call is interrupted, causing the characters to return back to their lives all too soon – but as changed people.

Craig Robinson displays his acting flexibility as he retires the monotonous manner and tone that we know as Darryl's from "The Office" to play Memphis, an inmate seeking the comforts of friendship in Colin Mitchell's short film, "Memphis Calling." An unlikely and seemingly random phone call from Memphis (Robinson), locked in a high security prison in Texas, to Donna, a straightforward business woman from Los Angeles, places us right into the action. After Memphis finally persuades Donna not to hang up on him, the call reveals the depths in both lives, divulging secrets they weren't able to share with others. Salli Soffioti executes a believable portrayal of Donna, who converses with Memphis in the confinement of her small, crowded sedan driving along the busy 405 freeway.

That initial jump that "Memphis Calling" makes into its plot is almost too fast, however, once in, you're hooked after given a small taste of the conversation. Robinson engages us with quick humor, timing, and an obvious wit that demands your attention. He leads you by a leash through the rest of the film. As he puts it, "I'm just adding things up here," and we take that journey with him.

"Memphis Calling" leaves you yearning for more, and keeps you entertained throughout. The fantastic acting done by Robinson doesn't diminish the way Soffiati plays Donna as an ordinary woman. Instead of letting a low budget be problematic, Mitchell instead uses his limited sets transport you into the everyday reality of the lives of this unlikely pair. The true-to-life look the film was very well captured by the camera work of Nick Lentz and is consistent with editor Tamara McDonough's simplistic editing.

The best word to describe "Memphis Calling" is winning. Our hats go off to Robinson, who makes us realize that once and a while we all need someone to talk to, and someone to listen.