When I first received this film from the post office and popped it in the DVD it was a bit of a head scratcher.. the film takes place in LA, yet was sent to me from the UK. It wasn't sent by the filmmaker,but rather the cinematographer. And the lead wasn't English or American - he's Irish. Should be fun!

A Night at Robert McAllisters is directed by Ben Jagger and is a gritty short about four band members getting together for their regular night of drinks, cards and jamming. The high contrast images and mix of freestyle and carefully executed cinematography lends itself well to this autobiographical-looking piece, and indeed that's exactly how it comes off at the start. A fictional autobiography of a band on the verge of going big, but still caught up in their own messy little lives. It's complete with the voice-over of the lead actor Dean Jagger, Ben's brother. Normally I find casting friends and family always results in subpar performances, but in the case of Robert McAllister Dean is actually perfect. He is easily the best actor in the film, the other three get by but lack the nuance of Jagger who's pent up rage fuels the script.

Towards the end the film veers sharply from it's night-with-the-guys angle, and we harshly transition from biopic to grisly feral violence. It actually works pretty well. The film is intercut with dream-like images from the mind of the lead, understandably vague and in the end very fitting.

McAllister's ultimately turns out much darker than it's opening suggests and overall is a good film. Weak points include the supporting actors and average-at-best editing, highlights include a terrific score, decent writing and a solid lead performance. The final word; if you can find it, see it.