Shadows on the Wall | Westhampton

Westhampton

dir-scr Christian Nilsson
prd Christian Nilsson, Saraleah Cogan, Rob Hinderliter, Alex Robbins, Terence Krey
with Finn Wittrock, RJ Mitte, Jake Weary, Roxanne Schiebergen, Amy Forsyth, Tovah Feldshuh, Ritchie Coster, Sam Strike, Mary Mallen, Luke Slattery, Chris Gray, Emily Jayne
release US 10.Jul.26
25/US 1h34

Is it streaming?

Set in rural New York, this earthy drama centres around a filmmaker confronting his past. In lieu of flashbacks, writer-director Christian Nilsson cleverly intercuts the narrative with clips from the character's grainy black and white debut movie. The quiet, introspective approach is somewhat low on energy, but there are powerful things going on under the surface. And even if the dialog feels overwritten, provocative ideas hold the attention.

After fictionalising a personal tragedy in his first film as writer-director, Tom (Wittrock) reluctantly returns to his sleepy Long Island hometown to clear out his stuff from the now-vacated family house. Other loose ends also need tying up, and he's assisted by squirrelly barman Fitz (Mitte). But his old friends Dickie (Weary), Jay (Strike) and Kim (Mallen), are not happy to see him. His ex-girlfriend Beth (Schiebergen) and her little sister Avery (Forsyth) are more open to reaching out. The question is whether watching the movie together will help them all get through this.

Everyday humour adds a gentle spark to the hushed narrative pace, although the present-day scenes can never quite generate the engaging energy of the teens in the film clips. Much of the movie features Tom aimlessly roaming around, running into figures from his past and struggling with endlessly locked doors (literally and figuratively). Of course, he hasn'e dealt with the past within himself either, and the story continually pries him open, forcing him to face up to his own actions.

The actors are offhanded and naturalistic, even if the dialog feels very sharply pointed. Wittrock is only somewhat sympathetic as a self-involved young man who makes terrible decisions and can't access his emotions. This results in some seriously callous interaction that helps explain why no one wants him around. No wonder he feels like everyone hates him. Everyone else is a similarly authentic bundle of emotion and anger.

Dramatically, all of this feels a little forced. But it's elevated by superb ideas that are carefully woven throughout the story, exploring the power of memory, the distraction of lingering emotions and how difficult it can be to restore a broken relationship. There's also the point that Tom tried to deal with this event by recounting it on film from his perspective, then hoping he could dodge his feelings long enough for them not to matter. As Dickie asks him, "Did time fix something for you?"

themes, language, violence 5.Jul.26

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

Still waiting for your comments ... don't be shy.