I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 but would have given it more if the camera work wasn't so distracting. I was close to turning the film off during the opening scene with the kids in the car. I'm not too sure what the cinematographer was going for but it didn't work.
But I'm glad that I didn't stop watching, in fact I've now put the Marfa Lights on my bucket list. There's a sense of the eerie and fantastical that the writer (It looks like he's the director as well) really tapped into and all credit to him (Andy Stapp) for that.
After starting slowly and being overly 'talky' for what was seemingly a road trip film, the characters and the story really grew on me and it did pay off nicely at the end. I appreciated the twists and turns. There were one or two plot-lines that caught me by surprise. It was good to see Tony Todd again although it was really Stelio Savante's performance that anchored the film and gave it gravitas. Tracy Perez (who's work I don't know) was easily the most believable of the four kids. Neil Sandilands (who we most recently saw in Sweet Tooth) overplayed the drunk, he hammed it up unnecessarily but it didn't take me out of what I was watching. And I absolutely loved the locations they filmed in. Why have I not been to Marfa? The last ten or so minutes were really strong although (once again) the camera lingered on and followed characters that weren't speaking, completely ignoring where the tension and conflict in the scene really were. Not sure what they were going for. But I especially liked the use of split screens that brought the two storylines together in the final scenes.
Ninety minutes well spent.
I definitely recommend this film.
But I'm glad that I didn't stop watching, in fact I've now put the Marfa Lights on my bucket list. There's a sense of the eerie and fantastical that the writer (It looks like he's the director as well) really tapped into and all credit to him (Andy Stapp) for that.
After starting slowly and being overly 'talky' for what was seemingly a road trip film, the characters and the story really grew on me and it did pay off nicely at the end. I appreciated the twists and turns. There were one or two plot-lines that caught me by surprise. It was good to see Tony Todd again although it was really Stelio Savante's performance that anchored the film and gave it gravitas. Tracy Perez (who's work I don't know) was easily the most believable of the four kids. Neil Sandilands (who we most recently saw in Sweet Tooth) overplayed the drunk, he hammed it up unnecessarily but it didn't take me out of what I was watching. And I absolutely loved the locations they filmed in. Why have I not been to Marfa? The last ten or so minutes were really strong although (once again) the camera lingered on and followed characters that weren't speaking, completely ignoring where the tension and conflict in the scene really were. Not sure what they were going for. But I especially liked the use of split screens that brought the two storylines together in the final scenes.
Ninety minutes well spent.
I definitely recommend this film.