Caleb Walker’s ‘Attribute of the Strong’ is a short film that grabs you by the collar, and asks: “What would you do if the tables turned?” It’s gritty, thoughtful, and simmering with tension – a drama where luck and resentment collide in unexpected ways.
Brice Stilwell’s Justin is no underdog cliché. He’s rough around the edges – a homeless man who’s seen too much indifference to believe in humanity anymore. Passers-by treat him like street furniture., but armed with the loose change he’s scraped together, Justin bets on hope. A winning lottery ticket.
Suddenly, we’re catapulted into Justin’s new world: sleek suits, boardrooms, and the entrepreneurial dreams he once buried under a blanket of despair. But wealth doesn’t erase scars, and one scar has a name – Victor. Played with smug precision by Ben Tinsley, Victor is a businessman whose casual cruelty toward Justin during his darkest days becomes an obsession.
What follows is part redemption story, part psychological thriller. Justin doesn’t just want to succeed – he wants to confront Victor, to even the scales. Walker’s direction keeps the tension coiled tight, while the writing teases out deeper questions: Can success heal old wounds, or does revenge just cut them deeper?
The technical execution is well polished – Ryan Wisniewski and Jasper McCollum’s camerawork is commendable throughout. The performances hold their own. Stilwell is magnetic, his quiet intensity is commanding, while Tinsley embodies privilege with unnerving ease.
‘Attribute of the Strong’ is a moral chess game dressed as a dark drama. It’s not loud, but it doesn’t need to be. It ask’s the question: When the tables turn, do you take the high road, or do you break the wheel? Bold, tense, and morally tangled. Highly recommended.
