Debuting on January 25th, as part of Winter Garden's StarLite Festival, Brett Ryan Bonowitz' latest feature film is a smash. It chronicles the rise and fall of Jess Darden, played masterfully by Whit Hertford, and his genetic engineering company, The Perfect 46. The story of The Perfect 46 and their efforts to rid the world of a number of devastating diseases is told thru a home invasion of Jesse's residence and a video which documents the rise and fall of the company.
Coming across in a "Steve Jobs" like story, the video (which is being viewed by one of the home invaders) shows how Jesse's vision and of a disease free world through using his algorithm to test couples who are going to procreate gets corrupted and eventually leads to his downfall.
The skill with which this micro-budget film is presented is impressive - worthy of any of Hollywood's multi million dollar efforts. And the beauty of indie movies like this is is that you know you have seen some of the actors (in my case both Whit Hertford and David Neher), but you cannot quite place them.
The film explores the familiar territory of how far man should go in protecting future generations from disease through genetic engineering. But this treatment of the subject is fresh and could have been extracted from a number of the .coms or other visionary companies who started out strong with a clear vision, were initially successful, and suffered a set back which eventually brought them down. The film captures that youthful enthusiasm and idealism, as well as the impact that the media, the government , and society in general play in evaluating and encouraging or destroying these kinds of efforts. The only card which was not played in the film was the religious one - which would have certainly been present in the real world. Nevertheless, the film sparked a very thoughtful discussion between myself and my daughter.
Even though the StarLite Festival is not over (I couldn't wait to write the review), I will be surprised if The Perfect 46 is not a strong candidate for an award.
Enjoy, DonB
Coming across in a "Steve Jobs" like story, the video (which is being viewed by one of the home invaders) shows how Jesse's vision and of a disease free world through using his algorithm to test couples who are going to procreate gets corrupted and eventually leads to his downfall.
The skill with which this micro-budget film is presented is impressive - worthy of any of Hollywood's multi million dollar efforts. And the beauty of indie movies like this is is that you know you have seen some of the actors (in my case both Whit Hertford and David Neher), but you cannot quite place them.
The film explores the familiar territory of how far man should go in protecting future generations from disease through genetic engineering. But this treatment of the subject is fresh and could have been extracted from a number of the .coms or other visionary companies who started out strong with a clear vision, were initially successful, and suffered a set back which eventually brought them down. The film captures that youthful enthusiasm and idealism, as well as the impact that the media, the government , and society in general play in evaluating and encouraging or destroying these kinds of efforts. The only card which was not played in the film was the religious one - which would have certainly been present in the real world. Nevertheless, the film sparked a very thoughtful discussion between myself and my daughter.
Even though the StarLite Festival is not over (I couldn't wait to write the review), I will be surprised if The Perfect 46 is not a strong candidate for an award.
Enjoy, DonB