I accidentally surfed into this short while at the Angelica in Dallas this past summer. I haven't been able to shake the setup it presents and just today looked on IMDb to see if a feature-length version was in the works. Hence, this review.
The plot centers on two strong characters: Angie, played by Dixie Lee Sedgwick, a trying-to-go-straight hooker whose daughter has been taken from her and placed with her horrible, vindictive mother, and her mother who is extorting money (in cahoots with Angie's parole officer) in order to even let Angie see her daughter. The core of Sparrow is a prearranged meeting between Angie and her mother. Chilling and VERY realistic. Both actors (Sedgwick and Cronauer) were terrific.
A gorgeous young actor, Levi Miles, whose character is, for the most part, preserved for later development, stole the camera when he was on screen.
Dixie Lee Sedgwick wrote and directed this short. She displays a dazzling, mature grasp of the craft. I've never seen anything else she's done, but I'm in line.
FINISH THIS FILM! OR AT LEAST TURN IT INTO A NOVEL SO I CAN FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE PEOPLE!
