This is 98 minutes of my life that I can never get back. The final product was a coherent film, perhaps, but it certainly was also a film with many a flaw. The film seems flawed right from the script through to what is provided as the end product. After watching this, I somewhat question the quality demands made by the entrance committee at the Whistler Film Festival, it truly boggles the mind.
Right from the start there seems to be technical problems. Establishing shots that should help set something up are shaky and create feelings of nausea. Then there are shots where there is clearly a lack of detail in the blacks. It appears as though the shots were shot too dark and boosted digitally which created artifacts and unaesthetic grain (apparent in some of the doctor's office scenes). Finally, where was the cinematographer on the set? So many of the shots suffer from over or under exposure. That was not stylization, that was poor cinematography. Also, the sound mixing needs more work. In some scenes there is a room tone that just appears and disappears as cuts are made. It just very inconsistent and distracting at times.
Now, though the stylization of the material is consistent, it is not necessarily to the benefit of the film or its audience. While effective during moments when grit or harsh emotion are needed, it proves ineffective during moments when pensive thought or more reflective emotions are needed. The style should be used to help establish specific emotional tones at the right moments, not dominate the entire film. This prevents one from being able to be pulled back and forth, instead we are blanketed by one all encompassing emotion.
The story itself also is flawed. The lead character is a drug dealer, or so we are expected to believe. However there is a clear lack of establishment of that fact. We encounter certain conversations and moments which inform us he is such, but we lack moments which make us FEEL he is such. Whether it be a lack in performance or a lack of necessary scenes, there is not enough present to really solidify the believability of the lead character. While on the topic of character flaw, there is also the psychiatrist in the film. This character just does not seem to serve much of a useful point in the story. You can see some hints of an attempt to set something up with the character but it is never followed through with properly (like how about her actually helping the protagonist in a meaningful way). There also seems to be an attempt at some kind of sexual chemistry, but if that was the case, it failed. Whether it be lack of direction or lack of sufficient dialog, it is unclear; what is clear is the fact that it just does not work effectively from a story telling standpoint.
While the other characters do not seem to suffer such fate (at least not glaringly), they do not really come out of it with any lasting feel at all. The performances per-say were not so flat, but the characters themselves seemed flat. It just seemed like motivations and depth of character were lacking throughout. What really drew the sister into dating the junkie? The movie implied he had quite the reputation, so why would a character with an apparently good head on her shoulders enter into a love and drug affair with our antagonist? It seemed like an outside of the story objective view of things was missed; as a result such confusions are created. Though perhaps the basketball team aspect does motivate it in a satisfactory manner, it is quite far from an original or scintillating story. Additionally, the relationship of the protagonist and his sister with their parents also had a less than ideal feel about it. The performances of both parents were solid for the most part, but the relationship between them and their children, as scripted just seemed lacking. Most notably, where the heck did they go in the end of the film when the daughter is in the most dire of conditions?
The right hand man (Marcus) and the junkie (Drew) are quite convincing in their performances though and managed to prosper in quite the less than ideal setting. A little more establishment of the relationship between Marcus and Robert would have been nice though. If not that, than at least some side plot about his internal dissension of the ranks before he does so outright would have helped a great deal. While the character of Drew was performed well, it also lacked somewhat. In the early goings it might have been nice if Drew had been a bit more suave to show some reasoning behind Janice's attraction to him. Instead he was quite the seedy junkie right from the get go. This is more the fault of the screenplay and/or director than the actor though.
Finally, the script is just full of cliché babble and actions. You just do not feel you get to know anything about anyone or anything. It just seems to fall into place like you would expect or in many cases, you did expect. I wonder if any kind of third party literary critique was given to this script before production began? Sure nothing in life is perfect, but surely a paid professional, with years of experience in the business, could have picked up some of the flaws, inconsistencies and clichés present here. In the end it just felt like a story that lacked many things as a result of someone trying to write outside of their element. "Write what you know," its a rule you should live and die by if you really want to be successful in this business.
Right from the start there seems to be technical problems. Establishing shots that should help set something up are shaky and create feelings of nausea. Then there are shots where there is clearly a lack of detail in the blacks. It appears as though the shots were shot too dark and boosted digitally which created artifacts and unaesthetic grain (apparent in some of the doctor's office scenes). Finally, where was the cinematographer on the set? So many of the shots suffer from over or under exposure. That was not stylization, that was poor cinematography. Also, the sound mixing needs more work. In some scenes there is a room tone that just appears and disappears as cuts are made. It just very inconsistent and distracting at times.
Now, though the stylization of the material is consistent, it is not necessarily to the benefit of the film or its audience. While effective during moments when grit or harsh emotion are needed, it proves ineffective during moments when pensive thought or more reflective emotions are needed. The style should be used to help establish specific emotional tones at the right moments, not dominate the entire film. This prevents one from being able to be pulled back and forth, instead we are blanketed by one all encompassing emotion.
The story itself also is flawed. The lead character is a drug dealer, or so we are expected to believe. However there is a clear lack of establishment of that fact. We encounter certain conversations and moments which inform us he is such, but we lack moments which make us FEEL he is such. Whether it be a lack in performance or a lack of necessary scenes, there is not enough present to really solidify the believability of the lead character. While on the topic of character flaw, there is also the psychiatrist in the film. This character just does not seem to serve much of a useful point in the story. You can see some hints of an attempt to set something up with the character but it is never followed through with properly (like how about her actually helping the protagonist in a meaningful way). There also seems to be an attempt at some kind of sexual chemistry, but if that was the case, it failed. Whether it be lack of direction or lack of sufficient dialog, it is unclear; what is clear is the fact that it just does not work effectively from a story telling standpoint.
While the other characters do not seem to suffer such fate (at least not glaringly), they do not really come out of it with any lasting feel at all. The performances per-say were not so flat, but the characters themselves seemed flat. It just seemed like motivations and depth of character were lacking throughout. What really drew the sister into dating the junkie? The movie implied he had quite the reputation, so why would a character with an apparently good head on her shoulders enter into a love and drug affair with our antagonist? It seemed like an outside of the story objective view of things was missed; as a result such confusions are created. Though perhaps the basketball team aspect does motivate it in a satisfactory manner, it is quite far from an original or scintillating story. Additionally, the relationship of the protagonist and his sister with their parents also had a less than ideal feel about it. The performances of both parents were solid for the most part, but the relationship between them and their children, as scripted just seemed lacking. Most notably, where the heck did they go in the end of the film when the daughter is in the most dire of conditions?
The right hand man (Marcus) and the junkie (Drew) are quite convincing in their performances though and managed to prosper in quite the less than ideal setting. A little more establishment of the relationship between Marcus and Robert would have been nice though. If not that, than at least some side plot about his internal dissension of the ranks before he does so outright would have helped a great deal. While the character of Drew was performed well, it also lacked somewhat. In the early goings it might have been nice if Drew had been a bit more suave to show some reasoning behind Janice's attraction to him. Instead he was quite the seedy junkie right from the get go. This is more the fault of the screenplay and/or director than the actor though.
Finally, the script is just full of cliché babble and actions. You just do not feel you get to know anything about anyone or anything. It just seems to fall into place like you would expect or in many cases, you did expect. I wonder if any kind of third party literary critique was given to this script before production began? Sure nothing in life is perfect, but surely a paid professional, with years of experience in the business, could have picked up some of the flaws, inconsistencies and clichés present here. In the end it just felt like a story that lacked many things as a result of someone trying to write outside of their element. "Write what you know," its a rule you should live and die by if you really want to be successful in this business.