Murder by win

The first film written and directed by Michael Lovan and discovered as part of our press coverage of the Austin Film Festival, stands out for its scenario as simplistic as it is compelling and above all for its truly inspired direction, making this film a successful comedy thriller.

The plot introduces us to Three friends, Adam (Erich Lane), Barrett (Henry Alexander Kelly) and Chris (Mikelen Walker) have created a board game, Murder by win. They believe this game has what it takes to become a bestseller. However, when their attempt at crowdfunding fails, they are offered another alternative. A mysterious man makes them an offer: he will publish their game on the condition that he takes credit for it as the sole creator and owner. On their way to meet him at his house, a strong dispute over gambling rights with this mysterious character causes these three friends to end up with a corpse on their backs and they have to find a way to get rid of the body without being arrested. A rather effective horror comedy begins almost behind closed doors in which appearances are often deceptive and the true personalities of these three friends come to light.

In the midst of the confinement in France, board games have experienced a real revival and their sales have really exploded to the delight of toy stores and online sites. Murder by Win shows us that behind some of them real or imagined stories can be even more interesting than the board game itself. One suspects that Michael Lovan's scenario must have been inspired by a lot of facts or what could happen if certain things didn't go as planned. These three main characters, innocent and totally invested in the creation of their board game at a moment that went wrong, found themselves in the shoes of real killers ready to do anything to avoid being incriminated and especially to get some glory from things they didn't do (like inventing other board games...).

The great care taken in writing the screenplay as well as the dialogues compensate for an interpretation that is not always convincing and for certain rhythm concerns. One suspects that directing a first film proves to be a perilous exercise for many people because it is like drawing a more or less promising start to a career for many young directors. Murder by win, in spite of certain apparent dysfunctions, is rather an interesting first film, if not totally convincing. It would have taken a more inventive direction and a better photography to make this film one of our favorites at the Austin Film Festival.

Murder by win
Written and Directed by Michael Lovan
Produced by Erich Lane
Starring Mikelen Walker, Erich Lane, Henry Alexander Kelly, Craig Cackowski, Brian Slaten
Music by David Rothbaum, Jonathan Snipes
Cinematography: Jerome Stolly
Edited by Michael Lovan
Running time: 90 minutes

Seen on October 25, 2020 (online access Austin Film Festival)

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