Every once in a while a movie that truly makes an impact comes out. Olivia Chiesi's ‘Decrescendo’ is one of those movies, the surreal film we’ve been waiting for that tackles unpredicted issues in a unpredictable way. Benjamin (played by Drew Schrum), a fine young man, pays a visit to his estranged family to have lunch with them. The atmosphere becomes more and more uncomfortable until hell breaks loose. When Benjamin hears what his father wanted to say to him, he immediately starts to lose his hearing. What happens after that is the magic that gives ‘Decrescendo’ the aforementioned surreal aura.

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We were genuinely impressed by Drew Schrum’s acting as he’s no stranger to us. We had the opportunity some time ago to see him in another short film, and he was as brilliant back then as he is in ‘Descrescendo.’ Schrum gives a tour de force performance, fearless and stunning in its emotional depth and physicality that suffers a Kafkaesque metamorphosis in a blink of an eye. The complete and perfect madness he is portraying passes the threshold of regular expectance. Schrum proves once again that he has all it takes to be a top-class villain in a superhero movie, as he undoubtedly masters the philosophy of the fallen angel. 

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‘Descrescendo’ is hard to watch at times... but yet so mesmerizing that you won’t blink until the end. For instance, there is a scene when Benjamin rushes into the bathroom to check what is wrong with him. In this process, he sticks a cue tip aggressively deep inside his ear as if he is trying to hurt himself badly. Such scenes are incredibly picturesque, but sometimes a little bit too intense for the weak hearted.