Highlights from The Phoenix Film Festival 2018 – Part 4
Article by Ray Schillaci
The tail end. Okay, I’m wrapping this up with some real cool mentions as I give a shout out to some wonderful shorts, and did I save the best for last? Perhaps that can be summed up with my review of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, the Phoenix Film Festival’s closing night film that played to nearly an audience of 300 with not a Spartan in sight (I’m sure you cinephiles get the reference, the rest of you it’s wasted on).
This does not mean I’m delivering mere filler till then. I’m going to put it in overdrive as I give you a review of the new Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul) movie, DriverX.
Here’s the funny thing, without looking at the synopsis for Henry Barrial’s DriverX, it could be mistaken for a chase or getaway movie. Okay, so it’s a Prius behind the “X”, but it still gives the appearance of an action movie, and it’s anything but that. Somebody needs to have a talk with marketing.
The pleasant surprise is that it could be considered a reflective and more sane version of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Fabian as Leonard Moore is a family man and, having lost his business in his middle-age, has a lot less angst than Robert De Niro, he can only find a job as an Uber-like driver, and he’s not catering to the dregs of society. His exploits as a DriverX are funny, sad, and frustrating as he deals with his mid-life crisis, two kids, and a working wife that is losing patience.
Patrick Fabian, well-known for his stuffy (and what some would consider) douchebag lawyer Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul, is the perfect foil for the mid-life crisis. As Leonard, not only has he lost his record store, but after several failed attempts of trying to break into the business world, with his age working against him, he is now a stay-at-home dad that feels a bit overwhelmed once he is accepted as a DriverX driver.
This is a whole new world to Leonard with nearly everything being automated – directions, clients and tips. He’s an outsider looking into a world that is not very appetizing to him and Fabian plays him flummoxed, reflective, and struggling to keep his dignity. Then their is the strain on his marriage. Tanya Clarke plays Dawn, the harried wife/mother, very well, and it’s not a one-note performance. She’s funny, sexy, and has an earthy quality that keeps Fabian’s character grounded. Dawn is also not without her faults, and it’s a pretty funny scene when Leonard cites her on them.
Writer/director Barrial keeps Leonard’s struggle and his encounter with all the creatures of the night intriguing. He’s acquired a highly engaging soundtrack that often perfectly reflects the mood of the characters. And he does not settle for easy stock characters. Many of his people are complex and their interaction with Leonard can be entertaining as well as enlightening. Barrial’s also not above taking us to the seedy side and having Leonard teased by it.
Then there is the clientele, and after watching this movie I cannot help but wonder why anyone would work as a driver for Uber or Lyft. It will definitely have you thinking twice. But, at the same time, Barrial somehow instills some kind of meaning into Leonard Moore’s choices and has us wanting further adventures of DiverX.
Hunting Lands tells the story of an army veteran who has become a hermit in the snowy woods of Michigan. He accidentally comes upon a crime scene and decides to be judge, jury, and perhaps executioner. Wow, sounds like the reboot of Death Wish starring Bruce Willis, and nearly every other vigilante action film. But, in the craftsman-like hands of Zack Wilcox, the film is a slow burn, a time bomb waiting to go off, and writer/director Wilcox puts his audience through the wringer. It’s downright exhausting.
From a story by Wilcox and Josh Amato, Hunting Lands is a contemplative thriller. One that so methodically turns the screws of suspense that it won the Best Director award at the festival. Beautifully shot, making great use of his sound, and pulling raw performances from his actors, Wilcox manages to orchestrate it all to an uncomfortable crescendo that left me questioning while gasping at the end. That is all I will say to remain spoiler-free.
I counted sixteen shorts programs altogether at this year’s festival. While bouncing from screening to screening, I missed some of the award winners, and some that had great word of mouth. One of the one’s I wish I caught was the Best Live Action which went to Kimmy Gatewood’s Control. A woman suffering from OCD writes a suicide note that turns into a suicide binder. Gatewood’s short film had high praise following it, and I would suggest following their Facebook page and/or checking out their website.
I was fortunate enough to have seen Austin Everette’s beautifully shot Juventud, the story of a conquistador traversing the jungle for an infamous mythological treasure. Everette’s film is divine in the way he transports us and brings a sense of magic before our eyes. His characters are convincing and the production has a sense of heightened realism that’s reminiscent of John Boorman’s Emerald Forest and Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, The Wrath of God.
Nearly all the animated shorts I saw were worth a mention. Each one was so unique and swept me away into their worlds. The one that hit me the hardest was the winner of Best Animated Short, Randall Christopher’s The Driver is Red. Through hand-drawn animation, Christopher chronicles a documentary taking place in 1960 of the manhunt led by Israeli secret agent Zvi Aharoni for the most high ranking Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann. The narration is authentic, the story riveting, and what we see before our eyes kept me glued to the screen. The Driver is Red is a fabulous short film that engages, entertains, and provides a piece of history that none of us should ever forget.
Shifting gears from the horror of it all, I’m putting the brakes on for the closing night film, Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade. Mr. Burnham has a devoted following as a comic, and now has a promising career as a successful filmmaker. And, a possible futurist? That’s right, for Burnham’s film is so timely one wonders how he hit the mark so well.
There are two scenes in his film that will definitely raise some talk, and yet they are done so meticulously and with careful thought that one cannot help but applaud him for such bravery. In retrospect, he has daid But, he would have rewritten some of those scenes due to today’s state of mind.
Those scenes, like so much of his film, are raw experiences that make us wince, fight back tears, laugh, and sometimes groan with our memories as kids. Eighth Grade concerns surviving the last week of eighth grade for embattled Kayla. She loves giving advice on makeup, confidence, posture, etc, on her YouTube channel, but is not the best practitioner. If only Kayla could watch herself and see the wonderful young lady she is capable of being. That’s what Burnham’s classic take on today’s teenage life is all about – the struggles, pitfalls, the acceleration of generational gaps, and the parents that can barely seem to help (in the teenager’s eyes).
Eighth Grade is such a revelation of a movie that I do not want to give too much away, and I would highly recommend anybody not to read too much about it. Burnham has also found a star for todays youth, Elsie Fisher as Kayla. This young lady is going to break hearts. She is so relatable. Her fears, loves, disappointments, we live all through her. It’s a magnificent journey.
That is another crazy thing about this movie, Burnham is neither a single father or a 14 year-old girl, but damn, he nails both on film. You may hear comparisons with John Hughes or Woody Allen, but Burnham has his own creative mind. Is he a one-of-a-kind like those two legendary filmmakers? Perhaps, but that will be determined with future projects. For now, Bo Burnham can bask in his success and the star he’s created with Elsie Fisher.
Remember: Life is too short not to be entertained.
