CREDIT | Omeleto

A disgraced movie actor meets a rising pop star in need of assistance. CREDIT is used with permission from Susan and Patrick Kirton. Learn more at Richard Washington is a disgraced movie actor getting some tough news from his agent, but at the heart of it is the unmistakable sense that he’s washed up and irrelevant. Just as Richard is disappearing from public perception, pop musician Mason Scott is on the rise, and he’s looking to take his career to the next level with a foray into film. Mason is under a lot of pressure, but one sleepless night, he goes down to the bar at a hotel, where he encounters Richard. Recognizing Richard from the movies he watched with his dad, Mason approaches Richard. The pair strike up a conversation, which leads to a mentorship -- and an unexpected route to redemption for Richard. Directed by Susan and Patrick Kirton from a script written by Susan Kirton, the engrossing short drama weaves the stories of two different characters at opposite trajectories of their journeys. At first, these strands are separate and in contrast with one another. But when they converge, it offers both the chance to learn from one another in profound ways -- as well as make peace with who they are and where they are in life. On the surface level, it’s a story about show business, economically establishing compact and contrasting portraits of the main characters. Richard is being fired by his agent; Mason, on the other hand, has reached a wide audience with his music and is about to start acting. Both exist in the hothouse world of modern entertainment, full of glib, often crass side characters, which are indelibly etched here. In this milieu, shot with a slightly shadowy yet glossy look and feel, Richard is a worn-down, embattled veteran, while Mason is a fresh-faced hopeful. Both, though, are positioned as cogs of a greater machine. When Richard and Mason’s stories collide, the interaction changes both of them, as Richard becomes a mentor and teacher to the younger man. Watching them work together in many ways is the heart of the film, revealing Richard to have wisdom and experience to pass onto the younger man, and helping Mason believe in himself and his talent. As Richard, actor Brad Maule conveys the journey of a man down on his luck, having lost almost all of his success and facing an uncertain future. But he finds it within himself to be generous to Mason, played by actor Eric Mason Kirton. In doing so, he sheds some of his bitterness and resignation and helps Mason jump to the next level. But when Mason’s agent cautions him not to associate himself with Richard, Mason must decide whether or not to protect his current success or pay tribute to the person who got him there. Mason’s decision is the crux where CREDIT gets its resonance and meaning, looking beyond the acclaim and attention to determine what’s really success. It means doing the right thing and holding onto decency and a moral compass, even in the hall of mirrors that is money and fame.