I have to compliment the filmmakers on this short drama for creating a particular mood. We quickly understand the time (early twentieth century) and place (the rural American south) of the piece. When our lead - Rose, a young black woman - sings, it is both beautiful and poignant. She is married to to a man who is constantly away working, intent on buying her things to prove his love, when all Rose wants is his presence. In her loneliness, she sleeps around, and things end badly. Or rather, with the odd framing device of this short, it also begins badly.

The film is much more adept at mood than story. By showing the ending at the beginning, there's no real suspense, and there's not much to discover along the way. To me, we only have half the movie here. There's a lot more we need to hear from these characters to know why we should care about the outcome.