Tangerine

Sean Baker, 2015

IMDB

3/5

Somewhere between the grittiness of Larry Clark's 1995 Kids and the unrestrained three-trans-female comedy To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything lies Tangerine - a micro-budget indie picture, produced by the always ambitious Duplass brothers, shot on 3 iPhone 5’s. Visually, it’s a luminous piece that has you immediately forgetting that it was created on something that’s in your own pocket. But it’s a character unraveling piece combined with a revenge drama, all taking place over the course of a single day. Sin-Dee (played by scene-stealer Kiki Rodriguez), is fresh out of jail and eager to unleash her fury on pimp Chester after discovering he had been sleeping with someone else while she was locked up. Aided by companion Alexandra, she promises her “no drama” and goes on to give her nothing but drama as she scours the back-alleys and decaying streets of Los Angeles looking for the guy. You get a sense that nothing very violent will happen when Sin-Dee reunites with Chester, that it’s more about the journey and not the destination.

It’s really a film about the lost souls of L.A. Most of the characters depicted are misfits just trying to find their place in the world. Some of them are not even looking for much either, maybe just some stability and a roof over their head. Sin-Dee, clearly the most short-tempered, is looking for security in a life filled with nothing but turbulence. Alexandra aspires to be on the stage with genuinely engaged faces watching from the crowd. Armenian Taxi Driver Razmik is stuck in a marriage that he is not interested in and looks elsewhere. But because of their jumbled place in society, they end up continuing to live their lonely lives that involve them roaming through the dirty streets. They are people that want to be acknowledged. Acknowledged by someone more than a random traveler willing to throw them a few dollars.

As mentioned before, Rodriguez is the stand-out performance of the movie. But there is much to remember about this film that can be accused of being aimless but is undeniably honest. It’s a well-crafted film that balances comedy with sadness. Focusing on some interesting people that have some real struggles in the world. Where having a dollar for the bus and having another dollar for a donut is a good day. The fact that it was all done on such readily available equipment just shows that anyone can make a film, and hopefully Tangerine inspires a generation of young filmmakers to do just that.

Creep

Patrick Brice, 2015

IMDB

3/5

You realize after watching this film that it's not really scary per se, but just down right creepy. So the title is very suitable. Perhaps what separates the creepiness from pure horror is how realistic the film actually feels. Maybe it's the found footage style that they are working with. Maybe it's the whole responding to an ad on Craigslist story that we constantly read about in the headlines. 

There's something about the lonely guy who doesn't respect boundaries that's almost scarier than an empty eyed cold blooded killer in the woods like Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th. Duplass brings complexity to his character. Even while you are feeling completely uncomfortable in his presence, you feel confusingly sympathetic. Instead of the film falling into predictable twists, it breaks some of the conventions of the found footage style and plays with it. They aren't afraid to experiment with the genre here, and that benefits the film greatly. You are never really sure what depths the film is going to sink to, and you are never really sure what the limits are. It's sure to surprise anyone watching. The Duplass Brothers are out there creating things in film that other people aren't creating. We are living in the peak time for young creative directors to generate stories on small budgets, and they are fortunately taking advantage of their resources. 

The One I Love

Charlie McDowell, 2014

Can I Stream it?

3/5

At the suggestion of their couple's therapist, Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elizabeth Moss) venture to a secluded retreat in an effort to rekindle their love for each other. But soon after arriving to the beautiful property they realize that the guest house has supernatural powers.

The One I Love is a smart little movie that someone could probably convince you was written by Charlie Kaufman and not Justin Lader (Bottom Floor, Errand Boys). Some of the mind-bending romantic elements are something out of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The layers of confusing exposition are something out of Adaptation. Some of the comedic imagery is something out of Multiplicity. Both Moss and Duplass are good together on screen, with Moss being the sensitive and emotional type and Duplass being the more cynical detached type. Both are struggling to keep the romance alive. They have reached a point of staleness in the relationship. The honeymoon phase is long gone. They are left with fading memories of what once was great, the more recent memories not being so favorable. Regardless, they decide to give it one last shot. The two manage to juggle the heavy mind-load of the movie, while also juggling their own multiple personalities. It fails to tie up some of the loose ends in the end, but it goes far enough into the abstract realm that it gives you quite a bit to come away with.

Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Jay & Mark Duplass, 2011


3/5

          Jeff (Jason Segel) is running an errand for his mother, who he still lives with (surprise) when he gets caught up in a chaotic whirlwind of too-real marital drama involving his brother Pat (Ed Helms) and his wife Linda (Judy Greer).
          This comedy is directed by brothers Jay and Mark Duplass (The League). In the beginning of the film, they do one of those introductory scenes where you see photo-shopped photos of all of the actors in the film at various points in their lives. I wonder if there is a GO TO graphic designer in Hollywood who excels at making these. While the film at times feels like paint-by-numbers comedy, there is a noticeable sense of smart writing and impressive acting. Segel and Helms fit into their roles really well as brothers, and the real moments between them feel authentic. Segel is particularly impressive in his role as the introspective loner who is on his own path to enlightenment. His eyes are open, and he's looking for answers. Susan Sarandon really displays her natural acting chops - there's a hypnotic effect to her acting that I have really come to respect. That being said, although she provided some veteran acting to the film, I wondered while watching: was her character even necessary? Shouldn't the film just be focused solely on the dynamic of the two brothers? The film effectively examines an interesting concept of a brother who hasn't left the nest, and is living life on his own terms and own pace is ironically the one who is together mentally. The brother who is out of the house and married may live up to society's standard but is actually impulsive and not in touch with his own emotions.
          While the writing and acting are the most impressive elements of the film, the cinematography is not. Jas Shelton's camera work is guilty of having too much shaky-cam and erratic close ups. I think the scenes would have been better served by medium shots where you can see the two parties conversing. In a film where there doesn't seem to be an emphasis on style, there should have been room to let the actors breathe in the shot.
          I wonder how much of the relationship between Jeff and Pat is loosely autobiographical of the two Duplass brothers. With the over-saturation of horrible comedies out there nowadays, there are refreshing features to this film and I am curious to see what the Duplass brothers do in the future.

Safety Not Guaranteed

Colin Trevorrow, 2012

4/5

Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni and Mark Duplass star in this film about a magazine doing a piece on a Craigslist ad from a mystery man looking for a companion to go back in time with. The film jumps right into the introduction of Plaza's character Darius. Darius is a sad sap, still living at home, who is looking for a minimum wage job to spark some kind of progression in her life. She settles for an intern gig at Seattle magazine. She has immediate interest in the investigative piece on the time travel ad, and ends up going away for a few days with the two other men who work for the magazine. One guy is the misogynistic frat-guy type who has the ulterior motive of hooking up with an old fling while they are away (even though it was his idea to pursue the Craigslist ad), and the other guy is an intellectual Middle-Eastern introvert in his early twenties. He's only working for the magazine to add some extra color to a presumably long list of academic and occupational achievements on his resume.

From a cinematic perspective the film is cleanly edited, has witty dialogue, good music and a genuine romantic element.  I am REALLY picky with comedies these days - in fact I don't even remember the last really good one I've seen. I was happy to see Mark Duplass outside of The League, and he seems to have some range because his character Kenneth was quite distant from his League character Pete. I was really impressed with Aubrey Plaza's performance. She fits nicely into that category of comedic actresses who play on that awkward/uncomfortable theme (Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Kristen Schaal).

The films in the "romantic comedy/time travel" genre do not have a lot of company... So you're already in pretty unfamiliar territory when making a film like this. It also puts you in the company of films like Back to the Future, so there are also high expectations. This film succeeded in the sense that it doesn't even matter if the time machine exists. The humor hits when it needs to and the love feels real.