Bryan Poyser (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} poyboy) wrote,@ 2008-03-13 12:04:00 |
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Wellness & Present Company
Rebecca & I took our last opportunity to see the Narrative Competition winner Wellness at the Alamo Ritz yesterday. It was well worth it. Salesman movies are inherently dramatic, as Mr. Bronstein pointed out to me. It's a simple and direct way to set up an existential crisis for your sad-sack protagonist - made even more so if the product he's selling doesn't actually exist. While the movie is definitely rough around the edges (was there a sound mix?), and gets to be somewhat predictable in its relentless bleakness, the basic decency that Jeff Clark gives to his main character makes it absolutely compelling. One's heart can't help but leap out to the screen for him as he tries over and over again to do his job, even though he knows deep down that he's been asked to swindle others as he's been swindled. Urging him, or rather violently shoving him in that direction is his bullet-headed thug of a boss, played with frightening conviction by the director's father Paul Mahaffy, who resembles cross between Lawrence Tierney, Rod Steiger and a deranged pit bull.
That night, I went to see Frank Ross's new film Present Company. Truth be told (and I already told Frank this, so I feel okay mentioning it), it's a film that I had already seen in a rougher form on DVD, and didn't much care for. But, for some reason, on the big screen, it totally worked for me. The moments that seemed pedestrian and mundane on a small TV held real dramatic weight in a theater. The characters' actions have serious consequences that you can see in their eyes, wriggling just out of frame even as they fill up the scenes with idle chatter. All of the performances were spot-on, especially Frank's, playing a character he is nothing like. The film is a real leap forward for him and it's exciting to see someone's range, both as a director and an actor, stretch right in front of your eyes.
The screening was at the Dobie, so afterward, I introduced some folks to the Dog & Duck, which was thankfully untouched by the Music Fest madness of downtown. I ended the night with my first Music Showcase - Ola Podrida at the Central Presbyterian Church. An excellent set in and excellent venue. Then it was sleepy time.
Rebecca & I took our last opportunity to see the Narrative Competition winner Wellness at the Alamo Ritz yesterday. It was well worth it. Salesman movies are inherently dramatic, as Mr. Bronstein pointed out to me. It's a simple and direct way to set up an existential crisis for your sad-sack protagonist - made even more so if the product he's selling doesn't actually exist. While the movie is definitely rough around the edges (was there a sound mix?), and gets to be somewhat predictable in its relentless bleakness, the basic decency that Jeff Clark gives to his main character makes it absolutely compelling. One's heart can't help but leap out to the screen for him as he tries over and over again to do his job, even though he knows deep down that he's been asked to swindle others as he's been swindled. Urging him, or rather violently shoving him in that direction is his bullet-headed thug of a boss, played with frightening conviction by the director's father Paul Mahaffy, who resembles cross between Lawrence Tierney, Rod Steiger and a deranged pit bull.
That night, I went to see Frank Ross's new film Present Company. Truth be told (and I already told Frank this, so I feel okay mentioning it), it's a film that I had already seen in a rougher form on DVD, and didn't much care for. But, for some reason, on the big screen, it totally worked for me. The moments that seemed pedestrian and mundane on a small TV held real dramatic weight in a theater. The characters' actions have serious consequences that you can see in their eyes, wriggling just out of frame even as they fill up the scenes with idle chatter. All of the performances were spot-on, especially Frank's, playing a character he is nothing like. The film is a real leap forward for him and it's exciting to see someone's range, both as a director and an actor, stretch right in front of your eyes.
The screening was at the Dobie, so afterward, I introduced some folks to the Dog & Duck, which was thankfully untouched by the Music Fest madness of downtown. I ended the night with my first Music Showcase - Ola Podrida at the Central Presbyterian Church. An excellent set in and excellent venue. Then it was sleepy time.
