Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon

Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon has ambition to burn and a dark heart that is revealed through a beginning-to-end mix of pop opera and paranoid fantasy. It’s the kind of outside-the-box concept one is likely to see on a particularly creative TV program or binge-worthy series on Netflix. While Tommy doesn’t entirely work as a feature film, you have to admire the chutzpah of writer, director, and star Luke Shirock, who conceived the project and spent several years completing it. Shirock plays Tommy Silver, a young man whose guilt-ridden psyche invents an imagined court trial, where a prosecutor, judge, defense attorney, jury, and onlookers are all manifestations of his torment over several deaths in his life, including those of his mother (Pap Shirock) and his girlfriend Carolyn (Celine Held). The story of his relationship with Carolyn and his struggles opening up to her are recounted in memories that are both gilded and tragic. A multi-talented cast brings tremendous energy to match Shirock’s capable handling of the rapid-fire visuals (not an easy thing to do when having to match shots full of dancing, leaping, and intense emotions). A composer and actor, Shirock has scant official credits, yet he seems to have popped into existence as a fully formed filmmaker. Recommended. (T. Keogh)