A LIITLE TENDERNESS is without a doubt the greatest short film I have ever seen. A hoard of other indie people have expressed the same opinion to me.
It is almost unfair to other shorts. I found that the writer/producer (and uncredited co-director) had been in the film world since 1979, as a PA on the set of RAGING BULL, and that he worked on 5 consecutive Scorceses films. Something rubbed off. Clohessy brought in seasoned pros --all on a favor and the strength of the script-- and shot this 40 minute piece on 35 mm in 9 days. It looks beautiful (Joe Matina DP), particularly when compared to other shorts, most of which are shot digitally or worse,. The story is powerful and significant. The acting on par with ANY feature and better than most.
I rarely speak on shorts (I reviewed features in L.A. a million years ago (I'm 56), but I went out of my way to find an outlet to comment on this film. In my den I have a wall of framed lines from favorite films ("Zu Zu's Peddals" and "Leave the gun, take the Canoli"). The last line of A Little Tenderness is tacked up there awaiting a frame. It took my breath away.
Kudos to Clohessy, Oulman and the cast and crew of this powerful, riveting film. I understand it won Best Short at a New York festival. It was denied Sundance and Cannes because of it's length (that it is too long for a short, too short for a feature --featurette?-- has left it in festival hell). I have not missed either festival in years. Had the respective Powers That Be from Sundance and Cannes had the foresight to make an exception as to the length, A LIITTLE TENDERNESS would have ran away with Best Short from both, as it would at any festival. The film is better than most features I have seen at festivals, not because the features were not good, but because this piece is just in a class of its own.
I have NO interest or connection to the filmmakers of TENDERNESS, other than that I would love to work with them someday.
Find this film and see it. And if you are from Sundance and Cannes, let it in.
Carol Ruggiero Producer
