IMFF '16: Sophia Takal's Always Shine

The cinematic tropes of DePalma and Bergman appealingly collide in Almost Shine, a mostly successful thriller that examines competition between friends and the pressures women face in the entertainment industry. The sly opening scene focuses on a close-up of Beth (Caitlin FitzGerald) as she auditions for a film that sounds strangely like it might be a porno due to the male voice offscreen calling her "sweetheart" and the constant reminder that the role will require lots of nudity. It feels like her willingness to remove her clothes is how Beth keeps getting roles since it becomes clear early on that she lacks confidence in her own talent. Enter best friend Anna (Mackenzie Davis), who is less lucky getting work even though, even as Beth claims, she is the better (and more aggressive) actress. The two don't communicate much anymore, so they decide to take a weekend getaway to Anna's family home in Big Sur for long overdue bonding. Or so they think.

The movie sets up the tension that divides them early on by showing that Anna is jealous of Beth's success even as she criticizes the roles she takes. The unease escalates first during a bar visit where a man flirting with Anna has ulterior motives involving Beth, inevitably leading to painful secrets being revealed, and the next morning when Anna helps Beth do a script read that turns increasingly uncomfortable. Director Sophia Takal cleverly intercuts all these sequences of build up with quick flashes of chaos that give a nasty glimpse of a future confrontation. Adding to the tautness is the playfully suspenseful score by Michael Montes, which pays a striking homage to Hitchcock and the already mentioned DePalma. The latter's influence can also be seen in how Takal teases us with nudity. The slowly tracking camera occasionally emerges on someone in the shower, but always stops just short of showing anything but a bare back or staying above the chest.

I became even more involved with Always Shine once it pulls a switcheroo during the last third by blurring the lines. While there are some inventive reveals during this section, Takal gets perhaps too on-the-nose as the conclusion approaches and the energy that was so effectively built during the first part begins to leak out. And if the ending feels inevitable, it is also a bit disappointing. I was hoping to see the wonderful opening scenes bookended to bring the movie full circle. Despite this, there is plenty to admire here, from the believable dynamic between FitzGerand and Davis, to the appropriately isolated and unsettling atmosphere, to the slow burn deterioration of this already damaged friendship. Even without a thoroughly satisfying conclusion, Always Shine is a memorable portrait of female power struggle.


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IMFF '16: Joshua H. Miller and Miles B. Miller's All the Birds Have Flown South

I saw quite a few debut features at this year's festival, but none of them opened as intriguingly as All the Birds Have Flown South. Through a dialogue free series of events, we follow Stephen (Paul Sparks) as he wanders aimlessly around the home of his recently deceased mother. The place obviously hasn't been updated in many years, and looking at Stephen's suit and grooming, it would appear he has never moved out mom's house and was stuck in a time warp with her. This sequence does an exceptional job building atmosphere and creating a sense of mystery, continuing to do so once Stephen finally leaves the house and goes to a diner.

At first, it might seem as if Stephen is just trying to get away, but all that changes once a server named Tonya (Joey Lauren Adams) catches his eye. He offers her a ride home, which leads to taking her sick husband Jimmy (Dallas Roberts) to the doctor. Tonya is appreciative but suspicious of why this strange man would want to help her, as we get the sense that she hasn't seen a lot of charity in her life. Jimmy is verbally abusive and probably would be physically were he not bed ridden. With nothing else to do now that his mother is gone, Stephen shows back up at Tonya's home, a cheap motel, the next day to see if he can assist again. It is from here things really begin to spin out of control.

Up until this point, I was totally on board with All the Birds Have Flown South because it was emerging into a character study of these troubled, disconnected lives. But then it veers into directions that are excessively unpleasant without any real purpose. There are numerous scenes of Stephen and Tonya being verbally assaulted by Jimmy, though they hardly compare to the scenes of Tonya using drugs and eventually being beat up and raped. I'm not saying this subject matter cannot be used effectively in a movie but here, it feels like a devise to shake the audience. Stephen is the most fascinating character in the movie, so when he is offscreen the movie loses steam.

There is certain to be some debate over the ending. During the Q&A following the screening, the writing/directing team said they felt the climactic events were inevitable, although I'm not so sure I agree with them. The reasoning behind what happens does leave some questions for the audience, and that's not a bad thing, but I don't feel like Stephen was developed enough to justify them. It's a real shame too, because I found the movie to be very well acted and technically made, with some original and memorable visual touches. Had the movie stayed focused on Stephen and not become so concerned with Tonya's downward spiral, this could have been quite a movie. I will look forward to seeing what these brothers, Joshua H. Miller and Miles B. Miller do with a more focused screenplay.


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IMFF '16: Jim Jarmusch's Paterson

Jim Jarmusch has made a career out of creating delightfully offbeat characters, many of who are on an existential journey of sorts. What's most astonishing about him as a writer and a director is how he manages to always keep the vibe, even when it feels on the brink of pretension or hipster overload, unbelievably cool. There's a rich sense of poetry in the ways his characters act and look and speak, making it a delight to spend time with him. I often don't want his movies to end. They have a relaxed feel to them, but I can't think of one that's ever been as chill as his latest, Paterson.

Jarmusch has achieved something quite remarkable and rarely seen here, that being an observation of daily routines in an ordinary life where the person going through it is...happy. There are various points throughout Paterson where we wonder if the monotony of the cycle will have an unexpected effect on the main character, though it never does. This is one of the most original and intriguing slice-of-life movies I have seen in quite some time. A lot of credit for the movie's success belongs to Adam Driver's performance in the lead role. He plays a character named Paterson, which also happens to be the New Jersey town where he lives.

The movie chronicles a week in the life of Paterson, beginning with when he gets up in the morning and often ending as he stares into a glass of beer. He is a creature of habit, his internal clock waking him up at around the same time every day and his breakfast always consisting of a small bowl of Cheerios. From there, it's off to work as a bus driver, which might look like a boring and thankless job, but not for Paterson. Despite his quiet demeanor, he takes pride in it, and even seems to enjoy the conversations of some of the passengers. The biggest pleasure of his day is during lunch when he can focus on writing poetry, with subjects ranging everywhere from the print on a match book to his love for his wife.

Paterson's wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), spends her days at home dreaming of new creative ventures. She likes to paint, but also wants to become a country singer and have a cupcake business. There is a blissful innocence to her approach to these many interests, although that does not get in the way of her encouraging Paterson to let others read his poetry. Despite her pressing and him agreeing to make copies of his "secret book," Paterson doesn't want to share his poetry with the world. The writing is the one thing that is truly his; it's a way to escape and express himself on the page in a way he cannot do verbally.

Jarmusch gives the movie a compassionate all-the-world's-a-stage feel. He creates in the city of Paterson a tranquil sense of community, in which even the potential threats turn out to nothing even close to that. Like most of his work, Paterson is refreshingly multicultural. The best scenes in the movie occur during Paterson's nightly after dinner visit to a corner bar owned by an elderly African American man named Doc (the wonderful character actor Barry Shabaka Henley) who chats with him about the famous people from the city. These are the moments that best reflect Jarmusch's signature deadpan sense of humor, thanks the gallery of characters who interact with Paterson as he sips a beer. Another great example is his reaction while eating a Brussels sprouts and cheddar cheese pie that Laura makes for dinner.

And such is the comfortable pattern of Paterson. It is not a movie of deep revelations or surprises, but a modest snapshot of the benefits and comforts of a simple life, joyfully fulfilled. Paterson might not say a lot or show much enthusiasm, yet it is evident, especially through Driver's magnificently understated performance, that he is happy and doesn't have any desire to change (he does not have and does not want a cell phone). There's something very satisfying in this, not just as a concept so much as by how Jarmusch presents it. This is a mature and confident piece of filmmaking, one that embraces the gift of living combined with the importance of recognizing the undeniable beauty of the details that shape life. Sometimes we take the latter for granted. Paterson is a thoughtful reminder of why we shouldn't. I more I think about this movie, the more I love it.


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IMFF '16: Nicole Lucas Haimes' Chicken People

Viewers walking in to Chicken People expecting a real life version of Best in Show will be either disappointed or pleasantly surprised. I was the latter. That's not to say the movie does not have its fair share of big laughs, as it is about people who breed chickens and enter them into competitions. But there's a surprisingly tender side too. Director Nicole Lucas Haimes has genuine empathy for her subjects and by the end, so do we.

The movie focuses on three people in different parts of the country for which chickens are a true obsession. After meeting each of them, it becomes clear that chicken breeding is a way to cover deep internal wounds. In the case of the two men, both named Brian, their passion is a mask for them to cope with loneliness. For Shari, a housewife and mother, the obsession developed to overcome alcoholism. We spend equal time with each as they prepare their chickens for the upcoming Ohio National Poultry Show, learning about their breeding techniques, competition requirements, and what types of chickens they love the best. This proves to be surprisingly interesting since they each have completely different approaches to breeding, and their methods seem to stem out of their individual personalities.

We get a lot of insight about who they are and the key relationships in their lives, which adds an extra dimension to the movie I was not expecting. By the time Chicken People reaches its climax at the competition (in Knoxville, TN instead of Ohio due to a breakout of Avian Flu), I was rooting for all three of these people. Haimes has effectively gotten us acquainted with them to the degree that we know how much a win will mean, and how much a loss will sting. We walk out of the theater hoping they will each continue to perfect their chickens and that a future of victories lie ahead.


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IMFF '16: Jake Mahaffy's Free in Deed

Gutsy and uncompromising in how it shows spiritual pressure inside a barely attended Memphis store front church, Jake Mahaffey's Free in Deed focuses on the level of desperation a person can reach before finally turning to God and his believers for help. Simultaneously, we also bear witness to the struggles the faithful face in their daily lives, and the lengths they will go to display their connection to the divine. The movie exists in areas of crumbling apartment complexes and little to no sunlight, which adds extra tension to the already difficult life of Melva (Edwina Findley Dickerson), a single mother whose son, Benny (an amazing RaJay Chandler), has a puzzling behavioral disorder. Doctors are unable to provide a clear answer and continue to prescribe more medication, none of which seems to make a bit of difference. It is during one of Benny's frequent outbursts that Melva meets an elderly woman (Helen Bowman) who wants to pray for her.

With nowhere else to turn, Melva goes to the woman's church, a tiny establishment where the soft spoken Abe (David Harewood) claims to have healing powers (he supposedly healed a woman's cancer with the power of God). Melva and Benny begin to make regular trips to the church for "cleansing" sessions, and while at first it looks like Benny might be calming down, things begin to get progressively worse. We get a glimpse into Abe's personal life as well, which consists of a thankless job and an overbearing mother. He seems determined to save Benny, his intentions nothing short of pure, as we see when he turns down a sexual advance from Melva.

Free in Deed captures the mood and atmosphere of the characters' surroundings with startling complexity. There are moments where we can practically smell the rotting walls of Abe's apartment building or the musty air floating in the church. The spectacular performances provide some occasionally tragic insight into the damaged souls of Melva and Abe. But the movie didn't resonate emotionally with me. Eventually, the pattern of events simply became exhausting, particularly in regards to the number of heightened scenes set in the church and Benny's repeated tantrums. These elements are important to the story, but their sheer excessive volume starts to feel divisive. In my eyes, they took away time to further develop these genuinely interesting characters and their dynamic. By the end of the movie, I was not as affected by the outcome as I should have been. There's no question Mahaffey is a talented filmmaker, and I admire the fact he doesn't provide any easy answers on the movie's stance regarding religion (I think there are several conclusions you could take). But I feel this would have been more effective as a short film.


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IMFF '16: Ira Sachs' Little Men

Few filmmakers working right now understand the complexity of human relationships quite like Ira Sachs. His movies often tackle difficult situations, but he explores them with a sense of realism we rarely get to see. Hearing Sachs explain that he does not rehearse with his actors and that they do not recite their dialogue aloud until they are on set is a testament to why his characters feel so lived in. It's a refreshing change of pace, as most character dramas have to hit a series of beats, most often climaxing with a serious conflict and at least one big emotional moment. Not that those don't happen in real life, mind you, but Sachs tends to keep the action on the more even tempered side.

Sachs' latest work, Little Men, is able to, in the span of barely 85 minutes, effectively examine the lives of two children and their attempt to understand the behavior of their parents. Thirteen-year-old Jake (Theo Taplitz) becomes fast friends with Tony (Michael Barbieri) following the death of Jake's grandfather. Their budding camaraderie is shown through a mutual love of the arts; Jake enjoys drawing and Tony wants to be an actor. What's refreshing about this is that their parents actually encourage and support them where in a lesser movie, they would discourage them. In Jake's case, this support probably comes from the fact that his father, Brian (Greg Kinnear), is a struggling actor. His mother, Kathy (Jennifer Ehle), is a therapist and the sole bread winner, and while the movie could have created tension out of that, instead it shows a healthy marriage based on trust and understanding.

The boys budding friendship is tested when it looks as if Brian might have to evict Tony's mother, Leonor (Paulina Garcia), from the dress shop she runs because he now owns the building and has to raise the rent. The question of how far one's generosity can stretch is tested here, particularly if it means looking out for one's own family first. Sachs stages a series of difficult conversations between Brian and Leonor in which he states what is financially right while she is only concerned with what feels morally right. It puts Brian in an uncomfortable place, not just because of what she meant to his recently deceased father, who was letting her run the shop even though business was slow, but also because of how it could affect Jake and Tony's friendship.

The title refers, I think, to Jake and Tony's painful discoveries regarding adulthood, as well as Brian's struggle to be a good father and set an example for his son. There are moments when father and son clash here when each doesn't know what the other is going through, and those scenes are complimented by conversations that beautifully show how powerful honesty and communication can be. Look, for example, late in the movie where Brian gives Jake a pep talk on why he needs to keep drawing. Or a scene in the kitchen when Jake is discouraged over some of his artwork that possibly got thrown away. Sachs is able to bring the same level of pathos to the subtle exchanges between Jake and Tony, such as when Jake finds out Tony got beat up at school.

In the midst of all these relationships is the movie's setting, Brooklyn, which becomes a character of its own long before the movie is over. This atmosphere clearly has an affect on those who inhabit it, adding an extra layer to the weight of the emotions conveyed. In the course of only six feature films, Ira Sachs has managed to successfully explore a variety of different types of people, young and old, and express not only the intricacies of their interactions, but how the place they live shapes who they are. Little Men is one of his very best movies, a testament to how film can serve as a window into the lives of others who go through the same trials and troubles that we do.


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IMFF '16: Kirsten Johnson's Cameraperson

Kirsten Johnson has shot close to 50 documentary films over the past 25 years, many of which deal with harsh subjects like rape and mass murder. Footage from her body of work is what comprises Cameraperson, yet anyone worried about seeing any of these atrocities onscreen can rest easy. Johnson's role was in talking to the survivors. Her projects have taken her all over the world, ranging from Bosnia to Nigeria to Alabama. The clips are often very short and feel incomplete, and in some cases, Johnson returns to them. Many of the clips that appear side by side share a thematic thread, such as viewing how people in different parts of the world are dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Sometimes we see two different perspectives, like when a young African American woman struggles to explain why she needs to get an abortion and then later in the movie, we visit a Nigerian clinic where a midwife desperately tries to keep a newborn alive.

While it is easy for much of the footage to seem randomly thrown together, we eventually realize it is not, especially when Johnson brings in clips of her mother shortly before she died after a battle with Alzheimer's. We meet her children. Despite so much of her personality being evident throughout the movie, Johnson herself only appears onscreen once. But that doesn't mean we don't get to know her as the movie progresses. Cameraperson is not just the chronicle of a career, but a deeply felt portrait of how this filmmaker came to see the world. We are now experiencing the lives and behaviors of multiple cultures just as she has, and the effect is nothing short of mesmerizing. Just like Johnson, we have empathy for the people sharing their thoughts and feelings, especially when it comes to expressing how they deal with the conditions they live in (such as two women explaining why they have to cut down a dead tree for firewood).

Johnson is rarely heard speaking either, only asking questions or giving "direction" on a few occasions. We are reminded that even though this is real life we are seeing, there is also a movie to be made. I was quite amazed at some of the footage Johnson was able to get and how candidly some of the subjects spoke with her. It's a testament to her not only as a filmmaker but as a human being, as I can't always imagine it was easy for some of these stories to be told (there's a scene involving a young man describing how he lost sight in his left eye that is gut wrenching). As I mentioned, all of this is intercut with Johnson's own family, possibly as a way to bring her back to her own reality. Or could it be a way to preserve the memories should her fate be the same as her mother's? Cameraperson is a very special movie, one I will never forget and am anxious to see again. Given the way it is structured, there will be always be a wealth to rediscover. It is unquestionably one of the most unique and unforgettable memoirs I have seen. I urge you to watch it on the biggest screen you can find.


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IMFF '16: Hometowner IndieGrant Shorts

Here are brief thoughts on the short films made by last year's IndieGrant winners. While my enthusiasm for them varies, there's no question this is a thoroughly talented group of filmmakers that Memphis is lucky to have. I look forward to seeing more work from each of them in the future! To learn more about IndieGrants, click HERE.

Death$ in a $mall Town dir. Mark Jones

A savagely funny look at how a new mayor decides to generate revenue in his town. Corey Parker (ahem) slays the lead role as he convinces the townspeople that sometimes, death is the answer.

Returns dir. Joseph Carr

An offbeat portrait of employees suffering through the slow demise of the bookstore where they work. While it is overlong and a bit too on the nose in spots, this is a subject that is very dear to me, so its often frank disgust certainly resonated. Cynical without being off putting.

On the Sufferings of the World dir. JEBA

Voiceover poetry by Arthur Schopenhauer collides with overlapping images of two women falling in and destructively out of love. The pretty faces are unable to mask the headache inducing effect of the style, which may be the point, but it all feels artsy for artsy sake.

Broke Dick Dog dir. GB Shannon

Three African American men, each with different mothers, track down the man they all believe to be their father at the radio station where he works. A potentially poignant story is marred by an uneven tone, with the early almost farcical moments not mixing fluidly with the dramatic arc that follows. Beautifully shot, though.

Silver Elves dir. Morgan Jon Fox

Visually haunting journey of a young man's disappearance loses its power by deciding to show news footage of his parent's grief. Think this would have been much more effective had it stuck to the setting; taking us out of the main character's environment breaks the spell.

Dirty Money dir. Jonas Schubach

Highly amusing in how it shows the various fantasies a mall janitor has after finding a bag full of money stashed in a bathroom stall. This newfound fortune might too good to be true, as he learns once someone else enters the bathroom. The somewhat sloppy style is saved by the ingenuity of the premise and the decision for the movie to be dialogue free.

How To Skin a Cat dir. Laura Jean Hocking and C Scott McCoy

A wacky road trip headed for disaster takes an unexpected detour. Highlighted by a flat hilarious performance by Billie Worley and some clever writing. While I might not have enjoyed the payoff nearly as much as the setup, the sheer energy of the cast more than makes up for it.

Carbike dir. Sarah Fleming

An Asian couple visiting Memphis tour various parts of the city via a "carbike." The enjoyment here comes from seeing these newbies experience areas of Memphis that most outsiders do not. Cute and flattering, if not wholly memorable.


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IMFF '16: Prichard Smith's The Invaders

As historically significant as it is timely, The Invaders chronicles the 1967 gathering of a group in Memphis who were determined to improve the lives of black people in the city. They were tired of the injustice being brought upon them by the local government (particularly mayor Henry Loeb) and the constant police profiling, and worked to protest this treatment as non-violently as possible. The movie is an effective mixture of archival footage (of which there is apparently over 30 hours available!) and current interviews with surviving members of The Invaders, their name taken from a 1950s science fiction television show. There's genuine poignancy in hearing them recollect how they went from accepting the rules society had set for them to gradually finding a way to "fight" back. Equally as interesting is seeing the group's involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the all too brief part he played in aiding them before he was assassinated.

It's impossible to watch The Invaders and not be reminded of the hardships African Americans continue to face when it comes to police treatment and poverty. We hear horrifying stories of black men calling the police due to being mistreated by a white man, only to be ignored once the police arrive. Just as upsetting are the accounts shared about the pathetic wages and lack of insurance for sanitation workers, which led to marches involving the iconic "I Am A Man" signs. Watching the protests in the movie, particularly one involving over 40,000 people, we are immediately drawn back to the recent peaceful Black Lives Matter protest on the bridge in Memphis.

The Invaders proves to be a fascinating piece of Memphis history, one that is certain to resonate nationally. The group's interests were in not only making life better for African Americans, but for all poor people who were being oppressed by the system. It's a riveting story, and once its 76 minutes run time was complete, I couldn't help but feel there is still so much more to tell. How long did they function as a group and what eventually sent them their separate ways? Given the amount of footage available, I would love to see The Invaders as at the very least a miniseries, so we can continue to learn more about this group and how their cause moved forward.


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2016 Indie Memphis Film Festival (IMFF '16)

I have a raging sinus issue complete with a rib shaking cough, (no) thanks to the fact it is still 87 degrees in Memphis the day before November. I've always known Mother Nature to be a practical joker, but never to quite this effect. I turned 40 three days ago, and if it seemed a bit off (as if reaching middle age wasn't enough) it was because I had expected to ring in another year with a deep chill in the air and not by turning on my window unit. But alas, these are the cards we've been dealt, so tomorrow night, I am excited to plunge headfirst into this year's Indie Memphis Film Festival (hereafter IMFF '16). As always, there is a thoroughly diverse and intriguing crop of movies playing throughout the week, ranging from narrative, documentaries, shorts, local, and otherwise. And per usual, the venues showcase what makes Memphis so unique and special, thus providing a welcoming and comfortable environment for viewers who are new to our city.

This festival is the ultimate birthday gift for me, a chance to see a ridiculous amount of movies in a small amount of time. It's the opportunity to experience movies I've never heard of, discover new talent I didn't know existed, and savor the company of visiting filmmakers during Q&As and parties. There is no greater time to be a movie lover, so I am so proud and thankful this festival exists in Memphis. As I did the past several years, I look forward to writing coverage of every movie I see, shorts included. Even more than that, though, I look forward to the unmatched sense of community that comes from sitting in a darkened theater, surrounded by people all sharing the collective high of being swept away by the magic of the movies. Let's do this!

Passes, individual screening tickets, and the festival schedule are available HERE


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Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa

I have a hard time writing about Charlie Kaufman's work. His directorial debut, Synecdoche, NY, is a movie that bulldozes me every time I see it. I've been wanting to write about it for the past seven years, and always just end up staring at a blank screen. Part of me is afraid that instead of writing about the movie proper, I'll spend too much time discussing the number of scenes that I could apply to my own life. There's an unflinching cynicism to Kaufman's screenplays, so much so that many are turned off and repelled by them. Look deeper and you'll find buried beneath an honesty that is so raw and true that it's painful to admit how much it resembles staring at yourself in a mirror. As evident as the pain is in Kaufman's world, there is also plenty of rich humor based on the misunderstandings and stubbornness we possess by being human. His insight into what makes us tick is explored in ways that are startlingly fresh.

Kaufman's latest, Anomalisa, which he co-directed with Duke Johnson, features a cast made up completely of puppets created using a 3D printer. This approach has allowed Kaufman to take this material (based on a play he wrote) and explore it with an extraordinary amount of freedom. The result is exhilarating and devastating in equal measure, as Kaufman breaths new life into the power of animation and is able to, in the way only he can, create complex and sympathetic characters despite their strange and somewhat unsettling look. Even with puppets, Kaufman is able to pull off numerous scenes in the movie that are almost unbearably heartbreaking.

I am hesitant to get into the details of Anomalisa. Like all of Kaufman's work, it is best to go in with a limited amount of information and be caught off guard by the endlessly creative ways he is able to develop his characters and their feelings. Watching the movie, there are many cases where a scene could easily dissolve into cheap melodrama and in lesser hands, it probably would. But Kaufman is always one step ahead of us, ready to pull back another layer to reveal something that is as surprising as it is familiar. The method in which he gives his characters their voices is as brilliant as anything he has ever done in terms of how it affects the bigger picture.

Anomalisa is a true work of art, challenging, funny, hopelessly relatable, and sad as only the best works of art can be. The weight of Kaufman's world becomes ours, and while it certainly isn't an easy burden to share, the rewards of doing so are rich and unforgettable. No one else makes movies like this, or really ever has. Nor has anyone else had the guts to try. What I'm saying is that Kaufman is a treasure and we're lucky to have him. Here's hoping that all the positive buzz Anomalisa has generated will keep us from waiting seven more years before his next movie. I don't think I could bear it.


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Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: John Crowley's Brooklyn

Visually similar to the work of Joe Wright and invoking the same tone in its early scenes as a Weinstein Company release, John Crowley's Brooklyn avoids the trappings of the latter because it is written, directed, and performed with a genuine sincerity and likability rarely seen in these awards season period pieces. It lacks forced sentiment, in other words, instead earning its dramatic moments thanks to an excellent cast and a relaxed pace. If the screenplay by Nick Hornby is missing a crucial element, it's that the story never has any deep conflicts. There is internal struggle, to be sure, but it's never difficult to figure out what the outcome will be.

Eilis (a remarkable Saoirse Ronan) is an ambitious young woman in 1950s Ireland who gets on the boat to Brooklyn searching for a brighter future. Set up with a room in a boarding house and a job at a department store, Eilis barely has time to transition into her new life, which proves to be intimidating at first and leads to undeniable homesickness. This doesn't last long thanks to night school and the introduction of Tony (Emory Cohen), an Italian American who spots Eilis at a dance. Tony is kind and hardworking and before long, he and Eilis have fallen in love. Life is blossoming in ways Eilis could only have dreamed of, but this progress is put on hold when she is forced to return to Ireland due to an emergency. A quick trip continues to get stretched, partially by the family that misses her and also by her own desire to reconnect with the homeland.

As mentioned, even when faced with these tough choices, it is always clear which path Eilis will take. Ronan makes the character so relatable and passionate that I found it near impossible to take issue with the predictable turns of the story. We are constantly engaged by her, and it's a tribute to Ronan as an actor that she is able to make us forget the familiarity of the material. Most of the time, movies like this spoon feed the audience so blatantly that I immediately tune out. I wasn't profoundly moved in this case either, but I did admire that Crowley keeps things intimate and gives the characters room to breathe. Instead of everyone on screen getting overshadowed by the need to make the movie a monster sized epic, this is a case where we actually get to experience the characters getting to know each other and soon realize that we kinda like them. Brooklyn is certain to be a crowd pleaser, and while this is a status many movies attain but don't necessarily deserve, here is a welcome exception to the rule.


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Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Onur Tukel's Applesauce

I found Onur Tukel's Summer of Blood pretty funny, but it didn't prepare me for how blown away I'd be by his latest, Applesauce. Tukel has a gift for making the most uncomfortable situations hilarious, especially when they have no right to be. He will build on a dramatic scene, causing us to squirm and cringe and wait for the shit to hit the fan and then...a joke is thrown in that catches us completely off guard. This type of comedy is attempted often, yet rarely works because the filmmaker is not able to find the right tone. Between this movie and Summer of Blood, Tukel is proving to be a master and one of the freshest voices in comedic (and suspenseful) cinema in many a moon.

The set up is deceptively simple. Ron (Tukel) calls into a radio talk show to confess the worst thing he's ever done (and apparently never told anyone). The opportunity, though, is cut off by his wife (Trieste Kelly Dunn), so when they get out to dinner with best friends Les (Max Casella) and Kate (Jennifer Prediger), Ron finally spills the beans. While confessing might have seemed like the right call, Ron's life becomes a Hellish whirlwind once he starts to receive disturbing packages in the mail. To reveal any more than that would take away the surprise and delight of watching Applesauce. There was never a moment I could anticipate where this deeply twisted movie was going.

Tukel taps into the lowest depths of human nature. His characters are selfish and manipulative people who do horrible things to each other, mainly just to see if they can inflict worse damage than was done to them. It's amazing how even the smallest of misunderstandings can spiral multiple lives out of control and bring out inner demons a person never even knew they had. Applesauce finds original and almost always uproarious methods of exploring this scene after scene. The movie loses a little steam as it draws towards the finish because there are so many disastrous situations packed into the narrative. Even still, Tukel manages to maintain control, leading to a final moment that is as pathetically funny as it is deliciously wicked. Applesauce is one of my favorite movies of 2015.


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Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Brian Pera's Only Child

Ryan Parker is the Roger Deakins of Memphis, and his lovely and haunting images are what should carry us through Only Child. They do to a degree, but the movie, written and directed by Brian Pera, also favors heightened drama expressed through dialogue that, for me, comes off as a bit ridiculous and overcooked. David Lynch regular Grace Zabriskie shows up in a very Lynchian role, complete with weird ticks and bizarre outbursts, playing less a character than the embodiment of one. She's Delores, eccentric mother searching for her daughter, Lana (Lindsey Roberts, excellent). Lana is lost not just from her mother but from herself, exiting her job as a hotel housekeeper under mysterious circumstances to go live with bored housewife, Loretta (Amy Lavere).

Loretta's relationship with Lana is a strange one. She treats and dresses her like a child (or a doll), never allowing Lana a chance to speak for herself, which might be why she doesn't speak at all. The movie flirts with ideas about gender roles and obsession, mostly conveyed through the strange relationship between Loretta and her husband, and by her collection of perfumes that are kept closed away like a dirty secret. Everyone has secrets in Only Child, the deepest belonging to Lana, who gives us hints that are effectively conveyed through the visual fabric that Pera and Parker bring to life. The movie screeches to a halt every time there is a conversation. This applies mostly to the scenes set at the hotel where Lana worked and the confrontations Delores has with the staff where she is staying. I mentioned Lynch earlier, and these scenes feel very much like they want to exist in the same nightmarish universe. These characters, however, lack a similar sense of purpose and frankly, they're just not as interesting or compelling.

Only Child has an appealing artistic quality to it. I am not familiar with Pera's background, but from watching this movie, it feels like he has worked in experimental theater. I like the idea of marrying that with film, and Pera certainly has the ingenuity to pull it off. If Only Child had been a silent movie, it would have been incredible. This is not an insult; if nothing else, it only further proves what a brilliant visual story teller Pera has the potential to be. He and Parker have created a chilling and vulnerable atmosphere. Now let's see it applied to a narrative with characters who compliment instead of distract from the richly beautiful world they inhabit.


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(c) Hell and Beyond, 2015

Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen's Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made

I wish I'd held onto all the movies I (re)made as a child. Armed with a VHS camcorder and more time than I knew what to do with, I would craft my own versions of my favorite movies, usually starring myself, stuffed animals, action figures, and in one instance, nutcrackers. Part of the fun was the drive to be creative and use whatever was lying around, no matter how ridiculous it might look onscreen. To me, it was magic...I had made a movie! That spirit is present during every moment of Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (hereafter Raiders!), an often eye popping documentary about a group of friends who remade, shot for shot, Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark. It took them a whopping seven summers to make the movie, with one particularly difficult scene being left out because the resources were not there.

Spielberg's film became an obsession for Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala, who took on remaking it as a way to cope with personal issues in their lives. Astonishingly, the whole movie was storyboarded from memory, and then friends were recruited for cast and crew (with people taking on multiple roles on both sides of the camera). The best moments of Raiders! involve the behind-the-scenes footage, such as seeing how these guys recreated the famous truck chase. The most amazing feat of this production is that no one died. Or got grounded.

Making a movie is a laborious process, something Chris and Eric learned over the course of their seven years tackling Raiders of the Lost Ark. By the time they hit that last summer, tension was high and it was time to call it quits. But if they thought trying to shoot a movie using around-the-house items was tough, nothing could prepare them for what would happen when they reunited, over twenty years later, to shoot the missing scene. It's fascinating and painful to watch the lengths these former best friends were willing to go, financially and psychologically, to finish what they started. There's a certain amount of exhilaration in seeing grown men living out a childhood fantasy.

In addition to witnessing the production side of the movie, Raiders! also focuses on the phenomenon surrounding it once word got out (thanks to director Eli Roth). It was an immediate sensation to say the least, a chance for audiences to share and embrace the passion these kids had for movies and the art of making them. Raiders! is one of the most inspiring and downright entertaining movies I have seen in a long time, a crucial reminder in the power of ambition and the belief that dreams can come true...even if it takes a while to find it within yourself.

Find out more about the adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark at: http://www.raidersguys.com


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(c)Hell and Beyond, 2015

Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Sean Mewshaw's Tumbledown

Tumbledown is too cute for its own good. The movie is a collaboration between director Sean Mewshaw and his wife, writer Desiree Van Til, who both obviously care a lot about the material. But instead of giving us a human drama about a relationship of mutual admiration, we instead get a sugar coated indie that, to my surprise, didn't premiere at Sundance. Not to say that I think it's a bad movie necessarily; I just didn't find much of interest or substance in it. It just kind of coasts along on the shoulders of its charming leads, letting them do what they do best and never challenging them to go outside of their comfort zones.

Hannah (Rebecca Hall) lives in a small town in Maine and is still mourning the death of her husband, a Bon Iver-esque musician who died mysteriously two years before. She is, naturally, a bit of a spitfire, so it comes as no surprise that she is less than thrilled about the arrival of big city professor Andrew (Jason Sudeikis), who has come to town to write a book about her late husband. Hannah and Andrew share a lot of sarcastic, obviously written banter, and once Hannah agrees to let Andrew write the book, they share some more. What they don't share, sadly, is any real chemistry because the movie is trying too hard to make them at odds with each other.

Since this is a quirky indie comedy, there are multiple dog reaction shots and Hannah's colorfully eccentric parents, played by Blythe Danner and Richard Masur (good to see him again). The movie does have some laughs, mostly due to Sudeikis and a few bizarre bits involving Joe Manganiello as a local desperately trying to court Hannah. A lot of the jokes fell flat for me, mainly because all the town's people seem to be competing to see who can be the zaniest. My attention was held until the movie pulls a few third act surprises that exist only to move the plot forward and supply an audience friendly ending. I felt cheated by every one of them, leading me to feel that, in the end, Tumbledown is a more than appropriate name for this movie.

Side Note: Director Sean Mewshaw was in attendance and did a Q&A after the screening. He seems like a very funny and likable guy, and he and his wife traveled a long road to get this movie made. I know he has a good comedy in him, so I look forward to his next project.


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(c)Hell and Beyond, 2015

Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Ben Powell's Barge

Life on a towboat is the subject of the visually striking documentary, Barge, and in addition to seeing the day-to-day grind of life on the river, the movie also spends time acquainting us with the men who work there. Most of them want to build careers on the boat, which is possible since promotions are more or less guaranteed as long as you show initiative. The biggest perk, aside from being paid well, is that you get to enjoy the solitude of the open water for months at a time. The movie vividly shows how the captain gets to see the sunrise and sunset daily, the only sound coming from the roar of the boat as it plows through the water. We can sense hints of loneliness in some of the workers, something they are willing to endure in hopes of making enough money to buy a house or a nice car. There is camaraderie among these men, living in the confines of the boat, and yet it seems subtle, as if they only communicate when necessary.

The job responsibilities of a towboat worker are not especially compelling to watch, but director Ben Powell is able to maintain interest due to the often stunning cinematography (he even manages to give visual weight to an old tethered rope). The real highlight of the picture, though, are the stories the workers tell. Not all of them are there under the same circumstances; it ranges from following in family footsteps to an ex-convict looking for a second chance. You get the impression watching them work and listening to them share insights that this is more than just a job...it's who they are, and without it, there wouldn't be much else.

While Barge does run a feature length 71 minutes, I think it would be even stronger as a short. After about 45 minutes, seeing the work routine grows repetitive, as do the stories being shared. Powell does such a thorough job packing in lots of informative footage up front that in the end, less would be more. Even despite this, Barge is an intimate snapshot into a world we often view from afar ("dry land" as it's called in the movie). Our questions are finally given some concrete answers.


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(c)Hell and Beyond, 2015

Indie Memphis Film Festival '15: Sean Baker's Tangerine

Much of the hype surrounding Sean Baker's Tangerine has involved how it was shot (with 3 iPhone 5s smartphones), and while that is unquestionably impressive, what stands out most to me about the picture are the performances by the two leads, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, neither of which had any acting experience. But sometimes portraying the hardships of real life doesn't require the ability to act, and the fact the camera is so small you can barely see it can make it easy to forget it's even there. Tangerine is also unique in that it's one of the first movies I can recall that revolves specifically around the lives of transgender characters, making them into complex, believable people instead of goofy supporting characters. The movie sends them dangerously close to ridiculous comedy on a few occasions, but Baker's intentions are always empathetic. He wants us to truly understand the day-to-day struggle a transgender person has to face.

Sin-Dee (Rodriguez) is fresh out of prison and learns via her best friend Alexandra (Taylor) that her boyfriend/pimp has been cheating on her. This information thrusts Sin-Dee on a quest through the seedy streets of Los Angeles to track down the perpetrator who moved in on her man. A parallel story involves Armenian cab driver Razmik (Karren Karagulian), supporting a family by constantly driving around a bunch of idiotic Americans while secretly embracing his desire to spend private time with the transgender prostitutes on his route. Inner cutting the two stories together proves to be a fascinating device, as we are able to view two unique, yet startling similar forms of oppression due to a larger population's lack of understanding.

Both sides are not without their issues. Once Sin-Dee finds the woman her boyfriend was messing with, she proceeds to literally drag her around the city so they can confront him. This is amusing for a few minutes, but loses steam real quick. We get a glimpse of a series of Razmik's fares, each of which is some sort of caricature to drive home the ignorance of the people he is forced to deal with. The movie does have some big laughs, to be sure, but they come through the performances and not the pressure of the plot. Rodriguez and Taylor are both fantastic, with the latter having what I felt was the more difficult and challenging role. A scene late in the movie where Alexandra performs to a near empty bar could be Taylor's breakout moment.

The movie looks great. The lush sky of Los Angeles is ever present, always threatening to swallow the inhabitants of the city whole. Baker shoots with an urgency that perfectly matches the constant and chaotic lives of his characters. Though not his first feature, Tangerine feels like a true calling card, proof of a talent with the potential to create something amazing. He needs a bit more control over his material and could use some tighter editing, but even that aside, Tangerine is a movie worth experiencing, if anything for taking us into the lives of a series of outrageously memorable individuals.


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(c) Hell and Beyond, 2015.

Indie Memphis Film Festival, Days 2, 3, and 4: From Wild Canaries to Hoop Dreams

Relationship malfunction and murder mystery collide in Lawrence Michael Levine's often hilarious Wild Canaries, the story of a Brooklyn couple, played by Levine and his real life wife, Sophia Takal, who become amateur sleuths when their elderly neighbor turns up dead. The diagnosis is a heart attack, but the unemployed Barri (Takal) is unconvinced. It almost feels like her curiosity is a much needed replacement from her and Noah's (Levine) constant bickering, which of course becomes worse once she convinces him to join her wacky investigation. The movie is at its best when they're at each other's throats over the most trivial of things, though it doesn't hurt that they're matched by a stellar supporting cast (Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat as their roommate, Jason Ritter as their pot smoking, gambling landlord). The plot gets rather complicated, but the screwball antics and the chemistry between Levine and Takal are well worth the time. I hope to see them onscreen more together in the near future.






What a thrill it was to see two of my favorite John Carpenter movies, They Live and Halloween, back-to-back and on the big screen for the first time! This was probably my seventh or eighth time to see They Live, and I'm still amazed by the impact of its punch. What a huge gamble it was to not only cast a wrestler in the lead role (Roddy Piper), but also to throw everything at the audience with absolutely zero subtlety. But that's the point, right? That's what advertising and our government do everyday, so why should the movie cut us a break when satirizing it? The one liners still pop, the make up effects are still eerie, and the legendary fight scene is still a gas. Time truly has been good to They Live. The most exciting part about seeing Halloween was being envious of those who were experiencing it for the first time. Their gasps, jumps, and comments to the screen made me nostalgic and a bit jealous. I've always loved Halloween, but seeing it in the theater made me appreciate it even more. Not just for its craft, but also for how effective and efficient it is.





Dan Riesser makes his feature debut with Stomping Ground, an ambitious but forgettable story in which country girl Annie (Tarah DeSpain) takes her uppity big city boyfriend Ben (John Bobek) from Chicago to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. As expected, he has a bit of culture shock, first from discovering what a wild party animal Annie was in high school and later, learning that she used to hunt. But the real kicker comes when Annie and her old flame Paul (Jeramy Blackford) reveal they used to go deep into the woods searching for Bigfoot. Ben is an extreme skeptic that any such thing could exist, leading to a dick wagging contest between him and Paul, who still has the major hots for Annie. The city vs. country barrier begins to threaten Ben and Annie's relationship when it is decided they will join Paul and Hank (Joseph Allen Cavin) on a Bigfoot hunt. The expected tension unfolds, not just in the triangle between Annie, Ben, and Paul, but also when strange noises from the woods make them wonder if someone or something is following them. Riesser creates a chilling atmosphere for the collectively excellent cast, but sadly, they're saddled in roles that don't give them much to do that we haven't seen before. I had the pleasure of chatting with Riesser during the festival, and found him smart and very engaging, so I am quite anxious to see his career progress. He shows promise here as a director, but needs a screenplay with characters as interesting as he is.





After being approached by Mark Landis the night before I saw his movie Art and Craft, my level of intrigue shot up exponentially. I told him I was planning to see it, to which he responded with a hand shake and a "God bless you," before moving on to the next person. His confidence is admirable, and it's the aspect of Art and Craft that most fascinates. The movie is a documentary about Landis, a Mississippian who, for around thirty years, has been forging works of art and donating them to museums, often with a story attached. To the surprise of Cincinnati registrar Matthew Leininger, who stumbled upon what Landis was doing, it was never about money. To hear it from Landis, a schizophrenic, his art replication and donation are acts of philanthropy. Once uncovered, it became a tug of war between Landis, who is obsessed with recreating existing works, and Leininger, who believes he has a responsibility to put a stop to it. Despite the fact that so many people encourage Landis to create his own art as it is obvious he has talent (given how seamless his replicas are), that's not where his obsession lies. What's most effective and lasting about Art and Craft is how it creates the portrait of a man whose actions began out of loneliness, a sad truth revealed when it's realized that the one original drawing Landis has is of his late mother.





I first saw Michael Lehmann's Heathers in the winter of 1989, and it left me completely shell shocked. Over the past 25 years, I've seen it more than a dozen times (mostly due to my obsession with it as a teenager), and thankfully, it's one of those movies that hasn't withered with age. Aspects of it are dated, to be sure (those clothes!), but the themes resonate with a fury that has never been matched. Watching Heathers on the big screen for the first time was a joy, not just to further soak in all the memorable lines and moments, but also to further recognize why it is one of the sharpest and best satires ever made (not to mention the most brutally honest high school movie I've ever seen). Daniel Waters's script takes no prisoners in its depiction of the dangers of cliques and the constant pressure put on students by teachers, parents, and worst, each other. High school is all about fitting in, something Heathers explores in a fashion that makes The Breakfast Club, a movie I loved growing up and still love, look like an after school special. The crowd at the screening varied widely in age, an indication of the movie's power. I look forward to watching it another dozen times over the next 25 years.





I didn't remember a lot about Hoop Dreams, since I'd only seen the movie once, and it was around the time of its release in 1994. Like so many, I was anxious to see it due to the praise from Siskel & Ebert, who championed the movie in a way that was rarely witnessed. I responded very strongly to it, but like so many great movies, it slipped through the cracks and I forgot about it until it was announced that Indie Memphis was hosting a 20th anniversary screening, complete with a Q&A with the movie's stars and one of the producers. I'm glad to have some years between my viewings of Hoop Dreams; even though I recall liking it, I don't think I was mature enough to truly appreciate it the first time out. And having William Gates and Arthur Agee, the two young men the movie follows, here to discuss the last 20 years of their lives, only enhanced the experience. This is one of the most intimate and compelling documentaries ever made, a movie that richly chronicles the entire high school careers of two teenage kids from the inner city with big dreams of being NBA players. By covering such a large period of time, we become involved in the lives of not just them, but their families too. By the end of the almost three hour run time, we care about every person we've met and by that point, whether or not William and Arthur play pro basketball isn't even the biggest concern anymore. Instead, it's the well being of everyone in each of these families, as we've seen how so many decisions, good and bad, have affected them. This is a beautiful and inspiring movie, one that I have seen few like and doubt I will again, and having the chance to hear these two boys, now men, talk about what happened after the movie ends was at once rewarding and delightful. I doubt I'll ever have another film festival experience like it and for that, I am eternally grateful.


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(c) Hell and Beyond, 2014

Indie Memphis Film Festival, Day 1: Lou Howe's Gabriel

We first meet the title character of Lou Howe's Gabriel, played by Rory Culkin, as he attempts to play with a child sitting one row ahead of him on a bus. There's a naive innocence to the way he coaxes the child to pay attention to him, along with some irresponsibility. But he seems harmless, even as he uses profanity when the child's mother intervenes. Something is not quite right about Gabriel, but that doesn't keep us from being immediately drawn to him. Gabriel is about a journey of sorts. The character, who prefers to be called Gabe, is looking for a former girlfriend whose love he is convinced will make his life complete. It might be easier to get there too, if it wasn't for his family. There are clues that he recently got out of an institution and since then, his brother (David Call) and long suffering mother (Deirdre O'Connell) have been attempting to keep him grounded. Easier said than done, since Gabe is on a mission, one that will include stops to places familiar from his past.

Howe shoots the movie with a remarkable amount of subtlety, something we're not used to when dealing with this subject matter. He strongly conveys how trapped Gabe is by showing a reflection of tree branches over his face, or darkness enveloping him as he escapes from a house through a window. Howe, in his feature debut, proves to be a natural born filmmaker, treating the material as if it's fresh and new. Two scenes that go straight to the core: one involves Gabe visiting a favorite diner, the other captures the family as they prepare to have pancakes following an awkward encounter. As closely observant as Howe is, none of the moments would ring as authentically as they do without the performances, particularly Culkin's. He's in every scene, and is never short of mesmerizing. Your heart slowly breaks as he drifts through this wicked world, a lost soul searching for the only thing that can truly cure him: love. Gabe's family loves him, but show it through acts of entrapment and belittlement. We can makes guesses as to what the outcome of Gabriel will be, and while I had a pretty good idea, I wasn't prepared for its emotional punch. I love this movie, and the unforgettable character Howe and Culkin have shared with me.


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(C) Hell and Beyond, 2014