Service Road

2018, 35 minutes

A female federal marshal is escorting a felon across the desert when their car breaks down, resulting in a day of unexpected conversations and confrontations.

No-nonsense federal marshal, Georgia Stevenson, is escorting computer-hacker-felon Chase Collins to his parole hearing when their car breaks down. Collins, who knows his way around cars, immediately sees what’s wrong and realizes the car can be fixed. He chooses to lie, however, and say the engine’s busted, hoping to use the next few hours to get to know Georgia a little better. They talk and goof off for the better part of four hours, Georgia slowly warming up to Collins’s incessant jokes. However, the conversation takes a contentious turn as they get into heated argument over the morality of Collins’s actions. He insists he stole from his father’s bank to expose corruption and do the right thing. She rebuffs him for being a spoiled rich kid who took the easy way out. No one really wins and some sharp barbs are thrown. Finally, slow-witted officer Mackenzie comes to their rescue, only to miss the turnoff to the service road where they’re stranded. Both Georgia and Collins take off running, trying to catch their ride before he drives out of reach. Mistaking Collins for a prisoner on the run, Mackenzie fires a shot. Collins tries to protect Georgia when a bullet grazes his shoulder and he passes out. Later, in the hospital, Georgia learns Collins will be OK (he passed out due to dehydration). She also learns that the car could have been fixed all along and finally catches on that Collins lied to spend more time with her. Fast forward two months later; Collins is out on parole, living in his new apartment. Georgia calls to check up on him. They dance around what happened that day, never truly addressing how they feel. But in so many words, Georgia forgives Collins for lying and lets him know, in her own way, that she’s glad they met, after all.



Connected mandy members:

Carly Miller
Videographer
Producer/Writer/Director
Sonora Rowan
Production Designer
Producer/Writer/Production Design