Auxiliary Man
Thriller, 06-Dec-2019
Vincent, a neurotic millennial with a middling credit score, needs work bad. A life of crime could certainly pay if he ever gets a chance, and one night he does. “Auxiliary Man,” directed by and starring Max Roux, infuses its 90’s style crime tale with bumbling humor and energetic soul tunes. The call comes in as he’s on the other line with a customer service rep disputing a payment charge. Quickly, he ditches that call and says yes to the new gig, where he’s instructed to pick up a package from a stuttering middleman with a Carl’s Jr. side job. (His girlfriend is down on her luck too, though she can usually rely on credit card numbers from unseen strangers via desperate phone calls.) After Vincent picks up his piece — placed in a greasy fast food bag with leftover french fries — he follows his target through the L.A. night, broken up with scenes of mundane concerns, parking woes, a phone call from his mother. Evenly influenced by Michael Mann thrillers and Adam Sandler dark comedies (read more on our interview with Roux here), the film feels refreshing for its throwback qualities. The only thing preventing it from a 20th century movie movie is its Lyft references and credit card CVV’s. This is the third short we’ve featured from Roux, after last year’s “Catlady” and “Purity,” and he keeps showing new cards; here, he impresses with a sweaty, craggy performance, and a blast of crime tropes unapologetically employed. Directed and edited by Max Roux. Writers: Nick Laskin & Max Roux. Producer: Kaycee Felton-Lui. Director of Photography: Marshall Douglis. Production Designers: Brittany Pires & Lindsay Theirl. Cast: Max Roux, Mackinlee Waddell, Adrian Eli, Wilson Carpenter and Patrick Scott Lewis.