2007-Aug-20 - The Life I Lived... watching indie film submissions
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Reviewing/promoting indie films is a difficult business. We at HIT endeavor to not only bring exposure to our creative brethren but to root for them as they strive Sisyphus-like up the Everest that is the film biz. However, we owe it to ourselves and y’all patrons/surfers/et al. to tell it like it is.
That brings me to our latest submission: The Life I Lived. Now, first of all, I must make mention of the man (young, young man) behind this film. Ben Solenberger, the writer, director and pruducer, is the ripe old age of 20. That’s right 20! He’s already made the way from Virginny out to L.A. and back again (having logged quite a goodly number of acting gigs in the process), and is currently in production of his 3rd feature. And, as I mentioned before, he’s f***in 20! I must say kudos to you, sir.
Now, the bad news. The Life I Lived was a generally painful film to watch. And this actually began with the dvd’s menu, over which plays a musical number nearly identical to the Godfather theme. This is also played throughout the film underscoring some very Godfather-like moments (like when the lead character says "I made him an offer he couldn't refuse"). I have to wonder how on earth nobody picked this up. If it was a spoof of the Coppola masterwork, it would have been perfect. But it wasn’t.
The idea behind The Life I Lived, in and of itself, is unique: A small town man becomes a crime boss. That man is Bill Cacchiotti (played mostly capably by Richard Bennett) an electrician who arrives at the decision to get involved with a group of small town thugs over a game of really smoky poker. And how does Bill make this subsequently life-altering choice?… I have no idea. There’s no explanation.
Bill spends most of the movie smoking and getting upset with people for not honoring their deals with him and yelling at his loved ones and brooding and falling into a deep depression after having to off a senator in which he medicates himself with a select brand of Scotch introduced to him by a mysterious cowboy during a completely superfluous scene earlier in the movie and killing people and drinking and smoking some more.
One of the most major of major problems in all of this, is that as audience members, we just don’t care. A villainous protagonist (ie Michael Corleone) must be sympathetic. He must have traits that are appealing to the audience: intelligence, charisma, a sense of humor. He must have had something happen to him that drives him to this life of evil. For Michael Corleone it’s the attempt on his father’s life, the ingrained sense of familial pride, and that knowledge that no one else has the capabilities to take over. In the case of Bill Cacchiotti, he has no positive traits and no real impetus to do what he does. He's despicable and, worse, dull.
Besides this there are numbers of other problems with The Life I Lived. Characters pop up out of nowhere to be involved in pivotal scenes, and some that seemed to be integral to the plot disappear completely. Also, Bill Cacchiotti’s adult life spans 35 years by my estimates, but is played entirely by the same actor! I’d say Bennett has an age range of 15 years at the most- disbelief can only be suspended so much. Lastly (though I could continue), the acting is lackluster at best. The most lacking performance being that of a supposed Stoner Dude who mercifully shows up in only one scene for some apparent comic relief. He succeeds in being laughable, but for all the wrong reasons.
What’s to like about The Life I Lived? The makeup effects (blood spurts etc.) are great- executed very well. Jason Baustin's cinematography, though simple, is efficient. Lastly, Solenberger is but a babe. He has much to learn. But I believe that someone with the gumption to achieve what he has to this point in his young life, can only improve his craft. Hey, nobody wants to have it all figured out by 20 anyway. If you did, what would you have to look forward to?
BEER RATING: Coors Light- 3.5. Zero taste but low in calories.
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Post A Comment!
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2007-Aug-21 - Thanks for the review |
| Posted by Anonymous |
I want to thank you so much for taking the time to watch our film and giving your opinion. I am sorry to hear you did not enjoy the film, but hey I guess its not for everyone. Like you said Im young so I still have time to learn, I would agree in some flaws you have pointed out in the film. It is a learning process at this point in time. I would rather make films and get criticism, then to not make films and receive nothing. I can only learn how to improve upon this and how to turn a better product. Thank you for all the personal kind words you said, they mean a lot. Really, thank you for the overall review, any advice is always well noted for the bettering of film making. Thanks and all the best,
Sincerely,
Ben E. Solenberger |
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2007-Aug-28 - happy to help |
| Posted by KYJoe |
hey ben-
thanks for being appreciative of my review. it's difficult for us artists to accept criticism- but you have done so gracefully. just keep plugging away.
-peace
Edited by KYJoe on 2007-Aug-28 at 12:54 |
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About Me
For all of you pencil pushers, cubicle clerks, dock workers, and govt. employees out there, HIT has combined 2 of your favorite things: beer and movies! We will review movies and grade them with beer! Now, some of you may disagree with our ranking system. For example, you might consider Miller Lite to be the best beer. And you may also feel that "Independence Day" is one of the best films ever. Not coincidentally on our scale, "Independence Day" receives a Miller Lite (or 3). So as you see films made in bad taste receive a bad tasting beer for their score. Fun, no?
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