Anna (Sharon Dennis) and Ralph (Lynn Kinkade) are a lovely couple. Married for over 50 years, Anna and Ralph are the kind of couple you can't help but admire even while silently wondering how they possibly survive with Ralph's befuddled ways and Anna's ever increasing hearing problem. 

But, survive they do. At least until the Angel of Death (Mark Clem) comes to bestow a special honor upon them with an offer they can't, well, refuse. 

Maybe. 

Filmed on location in Evansville, Indiana by Hoosier writer/director Mark Dessauer, A Lotta Life has already been set to screen at Evansville's own festival gem, the Alhambra Theatre Film Festival from April 6-9, 2017. 

Sharon Dennis and Lynn Kinkade make for an adorably believable older couple, their quirks from aging equally compatible and their devotion to one another never questionable even as Dessauer begins to stretch it into a modest degree of absurdity. As the Angel of Death, Mark Clem does a nice job of balancing the role's inherently caricaturish elements with underplayed humor and just a hint of Snidely Whiplash. 

Dessauer's film tells a simple story that unfolds nicely over the course of its 14-minute running time. While "cute" can at times be considered an insult when it comes to cinema, there's an undeniable element of cuteness here courtesy of our befuddled lovebirds and their undying love for one another. 

Production credits are solid for the low-budget indie with Kim Weber's lensing nicely lingering on the interactions between characters and Dessauer's mostly light and playful dialogue giving the film just the right tone. 

For more information on A Lotta Life, be sure to visit the film's Facebook page and if you're in the Evansville check it out when Alhambra Theatre Film Festival comes around. 

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic