With sharp, popping visuals and a pair of witty leads, Radical Honesty is a compelling, spiky watch. It’s also director Bianca Poletti’s commentary on what happens at the bleeding edge of modern relationships. The short picks apart naïve ideals by practically testing them using two horny people. And what happens is super awkward. Poletti skewers late Millennial jargon, particularly the conceit of hook ups without consequence. And pretences fall away in six short minutes.
Originally conceived by screenwriter and star Allison Goldfarb as a discussion between a woman and a man on a park bench transporting the two-hander to a cafe with a sixties vibe evolves it into something brighter and harsher. Even the first few seconds of the short tell a story about people’s bad impulses.
Goldfarb’s script is spot on in its vernacular, and she generously gives co-star John Hein enough rope to hang himself. Poletti delivers an accomplished, colourful story that leaves a bad taste…in the best possible way.
