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"The Only Thing I
Was Ever Good At Was
Having a Boyfriend." |
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Directed by Bill
Sebastian - Written by
Bill Sebastian
Starring Bill
Sebastian, James Thomas,
Jessica McClendon
Eric Reeves, Randal
Scott
Distributed by
Intentional Films - 2007 -
89m - Rated N/A |
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Every film festival has that one film. It's the ONE film that
seemingly comes out of nowhere to completely take your breath away. |
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"Midlothia," written
and directed by Bill Sebastian, is that ONE film for the 2007
Indianapolis International Film Festival.
"Midlothia" didn't win a jury prize at this year's festival.
Heck, "Midlothia" didn't even capture an "Audience Award."
"Midlothia," in all honesty, was likely a tad too simple in its
presentation and design to be considered for a jury prize.
An audience award? Again, in all honesty, "Midlothia" is such a
deeply felt, intensely honest and transparently emotional film that
it's hard to fathom an audience saying "Oh, yes. We pick this one.
We pick "Midlothia." This film hurts...hurts like hell at times.
This film will make you laugh, sometimes at all the wrong things,
and will have you squirming in your seats aching for each of the
four main characters and, on a couple occasions, praying that each
one gets out of this thing alive.
In a perfect world, an audience would wrap itself around a film such
as "Midlothia" and say "Damn. Finally a film that has the balls to
really show small-town life." "Midlothia" does this in abundance,
practically celebrating and mourning small-town life in the same
scene, with all its glorious quirks and uncomfortable imperfections.
Writer/Director Bill Sebastian tackles the role of Fred, the
catalyst, it seems, for everything that happens in "Midlothia" and
the closest thing the film has to a a redneck. Of course, one
expects a redneck in a film that features the tagline "It's kind of
like therapy only with guns and booze." "Midlothia" really IS like
therapy with guns and booze.
Wow.
As the film opens, Fred wakes up in the middle of nowhere after an
all-night drunk, having missed his going away party on his last
night in this road to nowhere town, and having experienced a sort of
spiritual epiphany. His friends, Duck (James Thomas Gilbert), Bill
(Eric Reeves) and possibly ex-fiancée April (Jessica McClendon) are
torn between their own hopes and dreams and being downright pissed
off that Fred's got the guts to get away from their little town.
By the time Fred finally shows up to share his spiritual epiphany
and renewed sense of commitment, life in Midlothia for these four
friends will likely never be the same. As much as "Midlothia" is a
richly authentic mirror of small-town life, it's equally a mirror of
what it feels like for many of us growing up, getting friends,
losing other friends, finding out who we are and, eventually, facing
our hopes and dreams, secrets and fears.
The brilliance of "Midlothia" is that it takes a perfect portrayal
of small-town life and, in the end, makes the message universal.
"Midlothia" is not just a film about Bill, Fred, Duck and April.
It's about you. It's about me. It's about us.
As Fred, Sebastian wisely avoids redneck stereotypes and blind rage.
Instead, Sebastian's Fred is deeply flawed yet so richly human that
it's impossible to not feel deep sympathy for this young man whose
balled-up emotions explode on the screen in the form of ass kickings
and random acts of violence. Yet, Fred is such an obviously
heartfelt, misguided young man that every bad choice he makes has
you going "Please do the right thing this time." Fred's final scene
in the film is one of such awkward tenderness that you find yourself
taking a deep breath and going...AHHHHHH, perfect.
Fred's friends are brought to life just as powerfully in
"Midlothia," with nary a wrong note to be found anywhere in the
remainder of the cast.
As Duck, James Thomas Gilbert serves up a constant reminder of that
lost friend we all have who drinks his life away trying to escape
the pain of bad decisions, lost dreams and being too damn afraid to
do anything to change anything. Gilbert's Duck is a lost soul
desperately clinging to the only safety he knows...Gilbert, quite
wonderfully, gets laughs as Duck without turning Duck into a joke
himself. Gilbert's performance is, in many ways, the film's
emotional core and a breath of fresh air each time it seems as if
the intensity is about to become too much to bear.
As the friend with the most secrets to reveal, Eric Reeves offers
the most understated, yet heartbreakingly sensitive performance of
this ensemble. Having sacrificed his potential for unfulfilled
dreams, Reeves' Bill is truly a man whose only hope may be actually
leaving this small town for good.
Likewise, however, Jessica McClendon is utterly devastating as
April, a young woman whose own words indicate her sense of self
worth, "The only thing I was ever good at was having a boyfriend."
The way McClendon delivers this simple line?
Heartbreaking.
McClendon's performance is so intimately vulnerable that virtually
every stalking southern boy is bound to fall in love with her...so
sweet, yet so wounded that you just want to swoop her up into your
arms and die protecting her.
Filmed on location in Midlothia, Texas, "Midlothia" featuers a
spot-on perfect soundtrack and score along with simple yet effective
production design taking perfect advantage of the film's smalltown
setting. Sebastian's script is so intimate and natural that
"Midlothia" feels less like a cinematic experience and more like
we've become real life friends intertwined in the lives of these
four young people. Only a late, ever-so brief pregnancy bit by April
feels a tad bit forced and unnecessary, however, even that scene
ultimately leads to one of the film's most powerful and revealing
moments.
It's difficult to rate a film such as "Midlothia," an obviously
lower-budget, less than technically perfect film that, nonetheless,
indicates a filmmaker and cast possessing uncommon talents and
gifts. The few minor technical flaws evident, almost solely due to a
limited budget, are irrelevant here..."Midlothia" is not only the
best film having screened at the Indianapolis International Film
Festival this year, it may very well be one of the best films to
screen anywhere in the U.S. in 2007. |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
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