Hey folks! I'm a former film critic and yes, I do have personal and professional ties to the creative minds behind Bittertooth. So if you must, take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
I saw the film at this year's Golden State Film Festival. Looked and sounded fantastic on the big screen!
Clear inspirations from the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and as told by Monte Light himself, the John Hough classic American Gothic. All mixed in with a couple of true-crime podcasters.
I was most impressed with the editing on this project. The fact that when the ladies are filming their podcast, they're being recorded by a phone (for the podcast), by the camera (wide/medium/closeups) and then it's all intertwined together seamlessly -- it looks like it was a lot of heavy lifting putting it all together, but the edit is great.
My only gripe, and certainly nothing detrimental -- the second act pacing really sags. I never lost interest, but it's never a good thing when you're suddenly taken from a story because your mind has been allowed to wander. But as I've said in countless other reviews, the key is, "did you get me back?" And Bittertooth did.
Some gorgeous locations, drone work and overall cinematography from Neal Tyler. I commented to both Light and Tyler after the screening -- about a particularly STUNNING sequence. The weather Gods smiled upon the crew for some part of the shoot. A windy/rainy day. And propped up on the front porch, Joe Altieri strummed a guitar and sang "Just a Closer Walk w/ Thee"... all from a very low and lengthy angle -- Altieri on the porch swing, the breezy, rainy trees in the far background, and running up to the lens, the banister pieces of the porch. Gorgeous. And there were plenty of other momentous shots, that's just the one which really stuck out to me.
Performance-wise, everyone's pretty good (if sometimes inconsistent), but I must call out the exceptional work from both Joe Altieri and Helene Udy. Altieri is simply a natural. His choices on-screen always appear organic. He never seems to be "acting".
As for Udy, she's just a consummate pro. Her scene w/ her onscreen daughter (Genevieve Thomas -- as one of the two leads) is hypnotic. What's fascinating, is that it's a particularly LONG scene. And it's just the two women chatting on a podcast. But this particular mother/daughter relationship is wonderfully dynamic and a lot of revelations come out here. It's a truly great sequence.
My comparison for Monte's obvious upward momentum as a filmmaker, is how I reacted to Leonardo DiCaprio's performance in The Aviator. He always carried so much baggage for being "Leo" prior to that, and it was hard to separate his acting from his "in-the-spotlight" personal life. But in The Aviator, for the first time, I saw moments where Leo disappeared and I only saw the character. How that corresponds to Monte and his latest film -- not that Monte doesn't have a consistent voice, but I saw something up on the screen with transcended what I know and might expect from Monte. It took his work beyond "Hey, my buddy made a film" to "I'm seeing something new". This isn't meant to be an insult, only to illustrate that his prowess as a filmmaker/storyteller (certainly visually) is expanding. And isn't that what all artists want, to grow and defy expectation?
Bittertooth is not a perfect film (again, that pesky second act slump), but I was entertained and impressed with the visuals/locations and performances. And there's one effective jump scare, looking like something out of -- I don't know -- Aliens perhaps?
Well done to Monte and company. Keep moving up that creative ladder. Looking forward to those next steps!
As for you readers -- keep an eye out for Bittertooth.
I saw the film at this year's Golden State Film Festival. Looked and sounded fantastic on the big screen!
Clear inspirations from the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and as told by Monte Light himself, the John Hough classic American Gothic. All mixed in with a couple of true-crime podcasters.
I was most impressed with the editing on this project. The fact that when the ladies are filming their podcast, they're being recorded by a phone (for the podcast), by the camera (wide/medium/closeups) and then it's all intertwined together seamlessly -- it looks like it was a lot of heavy lifting putting it all together, but the edit is great.
My only gripe, and certainly nothing detrimental -- the second act pacing really sags. I never lost interest, but it's never a good thing when you're suddenly taken from a story because your mind has been allowed to wander. But as I've said in countless other reviews, the key is, "did you get me back?" And Bittertooth did.
Some gorgeous locations, drone work and overall cinematography from Neal Tyler. I commented to both Light and Tyler after the screening -- about a particularly STUNNING sequence. The weather Gods smiled upon the crew for some part of the shoot. A windy/rainy day. And propped up on the front porch, Joe Altieri strummed a guitar and sang "Just a Closer Walk w/ Thee"... all from a very low and lengthy angle -- Altieri on the porch swing, the breezy, rainy trees in the far background, and running up to the lens, the banister pieces of the porch. Gorgeous. And there were plenty of other momentous shots, that's just the one which really stuck out to me.
Performance-wise, everyone's pretty good (if sometimes inconsistent), but I must call out the exceptional work from both Joe Altieri and Helene Udy. Altieri is simply a natural. His choices on-screen always appear organic. He never seems to be "acting".
As for Udy, she's just a consummate pro. Her scene w/ her onscreen daughter (Genevieve Thomas -- as one of the two leads) is hypnotic. What's fascinating, is that it's a particularly LONG scene. And it's just the two women chatting on a podcast. But this particular mother/daughter relationship is wonderfully dynamic and a lot of revelations come out here. It's a truly great sequence.
My comparison for Monte's obvious upward momentum as a filmmaker, is how I reacted to Leonardo DiCaprio's performance in The Aviator. He always carried so much baggage for being "Leo" prior to that, and it was hard to separate his acting from his "in-the-spotlight" personal life. But in The Aviator, for the first time, I saw moments where Leo disappeared and I only saw the character. How that corresponds to Monte and his latest film -- not that Monte doesn't have a consistent voice, but I saw something up on the screen with transcended what I know and might expect from Monte. It took his work beyond "Hey, my buddy made a film" to "I'm seeing something new". This isn't meant to be an insult, only to illustrate that his prowess as a filmmaker/storyteller (certainly visually) is expanding. And isn't that what all artists want, to grow and defy expectation?
Bittertooth is not a perfect film (again, that pesky second act slump), but I was entertained and impressed with the visuals/locations and performances. And there's one effective jump scare, looking like something out of -- I don't know -- Aliens perhaps?
Well done to Monte and company. Keep moving up that creative ladder. Looking forward to those next steps!
As for you readers -- keep an eye out for Bittertooth.
