Is it expertise? Reference? Do I, perhaps, possess a degree in the analyzing of film, or art, that somehow absolves me of (or pardons) the inherent pretension of Movie Criticism?
Short answer: No.
So just what are my qualifications? Well, I am a filmmaker. I have made a movie, She's in the Details, which played a few festivals, but is far from (what one would call) an impressive movie. Also, Uwe Boll has a much larger body of work than I do as a film maker, but I don't know that I would trust or take movie criticism from him (or anyone who liked his body of work).
Am I pretentious? Short answer: Yes. But I neither believe that sheer marketable commercialism (read: box office grosses) outweigh pure storytelling or that true storytelling (read: indie movies) must forgo commercialism or mainstream values in order to remain "pure". I do believe that in terms of Bigger Movies (see Avengers) that it's almost an accident for a good movie to be produced due to the sheer amount of obstacles it must overcome due to budget. The same could be said for Smaller Movies because usually they are made by Pretentious Fucks.
I never finished college (some would argue that I didn't actually go). This is my favorite movie. I'm self taught and therefore biased toward a DIY mindset. If I like a movie it means that I don't think that I could have done better (given identical circumstances to make the same film) or that the skill of the film maker (usually) rivals my own.
So why should you listen to me?
No reason at all. Form your own opinions. See the movie. Let me know if you liked it (or how our opinions differ). These are my observations and mine alone, but, at least now you know where I'm coming from.
I hope I can entertain you.
***
Tuesday morning I got an email.
I had won tickets to see Your Sister's Sister. I was ecstatic for three reasons. Firstly, because I was starting to believe that I wouldn't get to see this movie until it hit DVD due to it only being released in NY & LA in it's opening weekend (it has since expanded the initial release). Secondly, I seem to have an unusually large number of internet pals who have no problems navigating the world of Free Movie Passes-a skill I have yet to master. Thirdly, and, probably, most importantly (snobbishly), the movie, upon release, seems to have no plans to be released on Blu-ray. Meaning the proper way to see this movie is definitely on The Big Screen.
Despite the short-notice, Wednesday (last night) date, I was able to re-arrange my work schedule to accommodate the free screening so that I wouldn't have to talk myself (and my wife) out of driving from Western Maryland to New York to catch the flick (you might think that's crazy but I've done it before). The screening was being held in DC at the Landmark E. Street Theater and I left nearly two hours before it's 7:30 screening time to give myself time to take a leisurely drive and find perfect parking.
I had not accounted for rush-hour DC traffic.
I was hoping to get there promptly at 7. Stroll, casually around the lobby, buy popcorn around 7:10 and grab a proper seat for optimum viewing. Instead I arrived at closer to 7:20 after running several blocks from the worst parking garage I could have parked in (on 11th st). No time for popcorn as the place was packed, and I, sweating profusely, was forced to take a left-corner seat in the SECOND ROW.
I'm telling you this because none of that distracted from the fact that I loved this movie from opening to ending credits.
The director of Your Sister's Sister, Lynn Shelton is responsible for another movie I saw recently, Humpday, which is much better than it's premise sounds (I'll leave that for you to discover for yourself). It introduced me to both Shelton and Mark Duplass, who you may know, but don't know you know, you know? Like David Morse. Anyway, I had been following the moments and news of this movie for a little bit and was delighted to find out that it's even better than I hoped.
Duplass, Emily Blunt and Rosemarie Dewitt, play Jack, Iris and Hannah, respectively. Jack, on advice from his best friend, Iris, goes up to her family's cabin in the Pacific Northwest (all of Shelton's movie's take place there) to get some head space over the death of his brother. Intending to be alone, he instead encounters Hannah, Iris' sister, doing her own soul searching after leaving a 7-year-relationship. Following a bottle of tequila, the two damaged souls end up sleeping together (despite Hannah's disposition as a lesbian), which is then further complicated by Iris' arrival the next day.
At first the movie seems as though it will be held together by Duplass' performance. His Jack is effortless. Funny and open one minute, deceptive and damaged in the next. Emily Blunt's Iris is a great romantic foil (and she is amazing, really) but it's her job to be the unsung hero of this piece, navigating between Duplass and then, eventually, Dewitt's Hannah who comes in at toward the end of the first act and steals (nearly) the rest of the movie. This is clearly a performance piece-and there are three great ones here. It's a master class in acting. Each character is likable, relatable, flawed. There is palpable history here between these characters, two of which who haven't met before, but the chemistry of three actors makes it easy. You're never lost, slighted on story, or, and probably most egregious, feel like you're listening to boring exposition.
On the other side of the camera is Shelton and Director of Photography Benjamin Kasulke, who have crafted a movie of bare bones editing and gorgeous imagery (although there are a few standalone shots of Duplass moodily juxtaposed against the picturesque backdrop that bothered me after the first two). This is a movie of encompassing Master Shots the never slight the action nor stunt the scope of the landscape (or the movie) in any way, it's a fine line for Shelton & Kasulke to ride, but the result is both intimate and beautiful.
YSS is, I guess, in the same leagues as a lot of projects, like Humpday that rely heavily on improvisation and less on script, offering the actors a more theatrical-like experience while performing for the camera, to give the proceedings a more "natural" feel. The correlation to this is that often, these movies have dialog/plot that meanders and says, ultimately, nothing. That's not the case here: Shelton and crew have crafted an honest, open movie with big heart, perfectly-paced charming dialog while maintaining an honesty that isn't seen in a lot of scripted pictures. For get the "Mumblecore" origins of the piece, this is a formula that is now perfected.
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