With classics like Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon in its backpocket, Andrew Mandapat's Siren is a film noir that aspires to spin a dark and moody yarn within the confines of a short. If you're going to accomplish a challenge like that, you'd certainly do well to call on such titles. For the better part of its approximately twenty-minute running time, "Siren" successfully maintains the momentum of a suspenseful story that unravels right up until the end. It manages to be entertaining and fun to follow, due in large part to the sense of affection for the genre that informs each scene.

We begin with Ned (Gregory Pedemonte), the sort of hardboiled glourpuss who I doubt many people would be surprised to see dying from gunshot wounds. Faced with looming death, he narrates to an unnamed listener the tale of his demise. It's a halfway confessional flashback; as he intones, "I did something wrong once." That's just his wry way of referring to... well, considering his rogue's list of offences, being born I guess. But Ned pinpoints the cause of his mortal predicament to a perfect bank heist committed by imperfect partners and complicated by romantic entangelements, and viewers are enjoined to bear witness to this poor guy's pathetic circumstances.

Considering the restraints placed upon the film being a short, Mandapat's set-up is sufficiently intriguing. At the same time, sadly, Siren falls victim to its very brevity, suffering from problematic characterization and narrative shorthand that make it appear like a lightweight homage more than an autonomous feature. I never felt connected in any way to either of the film's characters, who - as corrupt and greedy as they may be - were so underdeveloped that I didn't care who lived, who died, or who the stolen money ended up with. Heroes and villains of the best film noirs resonate a soulfulness by which their vices and virtues make sense and have import beyond the superficial labels of "corrupt" and "greedy." The characters in Siren are types, and as such cannot be appreciated as people but can only represent concepts and themes. And what does the film say about its themes of adultery, betrayal, greed, and murder? Beyond one of Ned's glib comments about the Bible and the Ten Commandments, not very much except that they're bad. A stronger short could have given these characters life and handled its themes in a provocative manner, but as it stands, Siren is not that strong.

Also, without revealing too much of the film's twisty plot, I found the treatment of its female characters to bear faintly misogynistic overtones. Where the film is told from Ned's point of view, his mistress Charlie (Sarah Kordah) and his wife Sonora (Stephanie Lytle) are no more than odious temptresses - sirens - whose relationship with one another almost stands as a wellspring of malice. Ned, the gooney yet most intentionally sympathetic character, is where he is on account of the two female forces in his life who've tempted him and led him astray. This impression, which was perhaps permissible in the more sexist era of the '40s, is simply in bad form today.

In spite of my qualms with the film, Siren is still a promising showcase of talent in every respect. A great deal of care went into the look and feel of the film, and the performances - while lacking confidence at times - were generally played quite well. Oddly enough, John Mercer's brief yet scene-chewing turn as private detective Kanesworth stole the show. And to be fair, Mandapat's screenplay for Siren was condensed from a feature-length version which, I hope, fleshes out the characters and expands on its themes. The basic premise is a good one, and if this short film was a dress rehearsal for the full-length version, I believe any improvement it makes would be worth looking forward to.

(Siren is presently in the process of being made into a full-length feature film. For more information on this project and on the current short film version, please visit http://www.bajapossemovies.com.)