[I USED TO BE DARKER
screens Thursday January 9th at 6:45 pm and Saturday January 11th at
9:20 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
Director Matthew Porterfield and his
co-screenwriter Amy Belk present us with a group of well realized
characters and a situation full of dramatic potential in I USED TO
BE DARKER. The setup is that
Taryn (Deragh Campbell), whose parents believe her to be in Wales,
has unexpectedly shown up in Maryland to stay with her
Aunt Kim (Kim Taylor) and Uncle Bill (Ned Oldham), both indie rock
musicians. Complicating matters,
Kim and Bill are going through a messy break-up, which naturally has their daughter Abby (Hannah Gross) feeling a little tense and upset. And of course Taryn has issues of her own. The cast, pretty
much all making their onscreen debuts, do such an excellent job of
inhabiting their characters that you almost can't help but feel compelled to
see what happens to them. The problem is, nothing much does.
Look,
it isn't Andy Warhol's SLEEP.
Things do happen, but Porterfield seems determined to progress what
plot there is as little and as slowly as possible, and to do his best to avoid any
kind of resolution to the situations he sets up. And I get it. Our
lives don't break down into neat little three act plays with pat
resolutions. Reality is messier than that, and there's nothing
inherently wrong in a film (or novel) having minimal or no plot, or
one that leaves things unresolved. It depends on the work in
question, though, and the expectations it raises in viewers.
Based
on its setup, I USED TO BE DARKER
raises reasonable expectations that its characters and situations
will eventually coalesce into a something resembling a story, and
that said story will go somewhere. So when it doesn't, that can't
help but feel unsatisfying. As a character study the film is not
without its pleasures, and no doubt that will be sufficient for some
viewers. Me, I just felt like belting out that old Peggy Lee tune, written by Lieber and Stoller and played over the closing credits of Cleveland's 'Big Chuck and Lil' John Show' - “Is That All There Is?”. 2 out
of 4 stars.
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