CURATE-A-FILM | Isolated, Bye Bye Benjamin & Auteur

DATELINE: July 25, 2010
Chez PMD-For-Hire HQ
One feature, two shorts — and the shorts won today…

ISOLATED (2006, IndieFlix, feature, runtime: 88 mins., director: Eric Nichols):

A bank heist, hostage taking, gunplay, all manner of “Bonnie and Clyde” antics. We’ve seen this all before, haven’t we? Answer: yes we have. Many times, in fact. So what’s the novel wrinkle in Isolated? Answer: Blair Witch Project elements, that’s what. Prepare to have the chills running straight up your sacroiliac as you view Victor, Kim, Lisa, Steven, and their bank manager hostage Michael deal with several particularly strange paranormal forest phenomena as the heist gang absconds from justice across the Nevada desert. Wait a second? Wha’? Desert? And then…forest? Yes, you read that correctly. Just imagine the Blair Witch Project coming back to haunt ya.

What I enjoyed most about this film?

Plot here didn’t rivet me, alas. Actually, I was paying greater attention to the production value and the acting. The former was very well done while the latter was quite problematic. I generally overlook when indies which make common rookie filmmaking mistakes — only because filmmaking is such an all-consuming creative endeavor and the director along with her/his skeleton crew usually have so much happening on-set that some things generally escape notice…like continuity. In Isolated, I actually caught site of our “villains’” reflections in one of the on-camera vans and was completely prepared to let it go. But then came some annoying ADR, which — understanding the sound limitations of exterior sets, more generally  — threatened to ruin my enjoyment of the piece. Lead actor Peter Quartaroli spoke much too silently (during ADR) as our hero, so much so that I began grinding my molars in annoyance — a faux-pas even if he was decidedly more anti-heroic in this picture. Jennifer Baeseman was attractively-cast and showed some skills. I’d like to see her in something else with more of a budget and observe what she does with the new role. For many actors in this film, especially Aussie newcomer David Newham, I felt as if the material was restraining them and prevented us from really connecting with them as characters. Summary: top grades for the production and doing a lot with a little. So-so grades for ADR and a veritable deluge on-the-nose dialogue. I’d recommend this picture as an example of how to improve your own indie low-budget picture if this is indeed what you’re setting out to do.

BYE BYE BENJAMIN (2006, IndieFlix, runtime: 20 mins., director: Charlie McDowell):

What a cute little short! It’s not often a film grabs you by the short and curlies for the briefest of rides and just refuses to let go. A boy-man who heads the HR division of one of New York’s largest brokerage houses? Yes, you read that correctly. Have a gander at this all-star cast! Hollywood membership certainly has its privileges! Lolita Davidovitch?! Check. Ted Danson?! Check. Seymour Cassel?! Malcolm McDowell?! Check, check, check. All in the same project. Lucky us. Which cosmic stars aligned to make this possible? An engaging pre-pubescent love interest develops between Kali Majors and the short’s star, Benjamin Bryan. Dialogues were spot on. Production value was frankly awesome. And while you suspend your disbelief for just a few brief moments that lead character Benjamin Osborne’s journey is even remotely possible, you totally buy into this story in a full-bodied way.

What I loved most about this film?

Hands down the best film I saw last night. At first, both Bye Bye Benjamin‘s marquee graphic and trailer gave me the impression this picture was smart-by-half. But by the first third’s end I was hooked. Nice to see an all-star cast coming together for a good cause — this being Charlie McDowell‘s big break at 23 years-old (!!!). Lolita Davidovitch totally knows how to light the screen on fire, and as I’d expressed on Facebook once I was done: this woman can look amazing at sixty! There’s really nothing left to analyze about this film: go and see this if you want to learn how to shoot and cut a short properly. ‘Nuff said.

AUTEUR (2006, IndieFlix, runtime: 26 minutes, director: Kevin Abrams):

Director Abrams nailed his casting choices with this one. Auteur tells the story of Eric Pelham, an aspiring auteur who’s looking for his first break into the Hollywood big time. He has exactly three minutes to pitch his script to Hollywood A-Lister Jack Burton, who thankfully becomes so riveted to Pelham’s idea that three minutes runs into five into ten. Meanwhile, what does our hero do for his daily bread? Aha, therein lies the problem: our man Eric is a wanton DVD pirate. He gets invited to exclusive Hollywood screenings — thanks to his partner Lenny — and together they rip-off the studios by flogging pre-release DVDs to an expectant marketplace. They’re raking in the loot. For Eric, getting his movie green-lit is hardly about money: it’s all about the art of the cinema. For the purity of it all. And that indeed is where our adventure begins…

What I enjoyed most about this film?

As I’d mentioned above, the bang on casting kicked it for me. Beau Clark was a well-selected anti-hero, who was framed by some superb sub A-Listers (including the lovely Victoria Profeta who’s since made it to the Big Time in CA$H, now officially off the sub-A-List list). Dialogue was snappy. Editing was tight. Basically, it looked as if the entire experience was a fun romp for the cast and crew. Abrams also played around with shattering the fourth wall by getting his protagonist speaking directly to us, and, believe it or not, I learned a few things about piracy and how it’s all done. All in all, Auteur time well-spent in front of the computer.

Remember if there’s anything you’d like to see here — format, films, or function — let me know in the comments below.