After band practice, Zeke, Earl and Dick, three buddies from a small town in Alabama spend the night partying and “getting weird”. As a result of their shenanigans, Dick is dropped in front of the ICU, hemorrhaging heavily, while Zeke and Earl are left to hide what really happened after their rock and roll jam sesh. The doctor at the hospital claims he has never seen anything similar so the local police opens an investigation. All the ambiguities, bad decisions, and contradictions take over what can easily be considered the most humiliating story of the protagonists’ lives which are slowly collapsing. The comic force that drives the entire film lies precisely in a script that is, on one hand, absurd and ridiculous, yet, on the other hand, played as an archetypal drama. The dejected faces of Zeke (Michael Abbott Jr.), Officer Dudley (Sarah Baker) and the puzzled Earl (Andre Hyland) collide and blend perfectly with the clearly absurd and humorous plot behind the dramatic events.
 
Daniel Scheinert, a member of the filmmaking duo the “Daniels” which had directed the wonderfully weird Swiss Army Man (2016), returns with a feature film that displays a spirit not far from this masterpiece and in which he stars as the unfortunate Dick Long. Both the script and the actors’ performances are more than enough for the audience to be carried away by this personal portrait of a small town in Alabama. Let’s not forget to highlight the fact that various talents from American indie cinema participated in this movie, such as cinematographer Ashley Connor (Madeline’s Madeline, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and actor Andre Hyland (Relaxer, The 4th). The endless references to films that have marked the last decades, the impeccable aesthetics and the “read-between-the-lines” humor result in a little jewel of a movie that will not go unnoticed.

 
2019: Sundance Film Festival

Year: 2019 Runtime: 100 min Country: USA Direction: Daniel Scheinert Screenplay: Billy Chew Cinematography: Ashley Connor OST: Andy Hull, Robert McDowell Cast: Michael Abbott Jr., Virginia Newcomb, Andre Hyland Genre: Comedy Language: 6/03 VOSC | 8/03 VOSE Subtitles: CA: Savinen | ES: Guillermo Parra Contact: A24

Category
2020