| Something different and fine |
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| written by mkaliher2 |
March 10, 2011 - 11:29 PM PST |
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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Finding Quiet City resembled finding a special, but unknown book while browsing a hole-in-the-wall independent bookstore on a rainy spring afternoon. To try and describe what it's about really doesn't do it justice. More important is how it makes you feel after you've watched it. The film's timbre is reminiscent of John Carney's Irish film Once, another terrific performance by non-actors, but Quiet City's non-actors had never met prior to the filming, and Erin Fisher and Cris Lankenau's fresh and spontaneous contributions to the script are what makes Quiet City work.
I recommend checking out the New York premier's Q&A in the bonus material, and the (non-)actors' commentary version. They offer some curious insights into where the crew is coming from. But the audience at the New York premiere should have demanded to hear from Erin Fisher during the Q&A. In my opinion, she quite carried the film; it would have been interesting to hear how she felt about it. She is pretty, but don't hold that against her: she has a natural talent--if you don't believe me, check out the scene in which she talks on the phone with her boyfriend in Atlanta--that is disarming. Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie could learn a thing or three from her.
Director Aaron Katz and his crew--who made the film with $2,500 and a borrowed HD camera, crashing in friends' New York apartments during the shoot and filming the public scenes without permits during off hours--are definitely on to something. Their light touch, editing, and thoughtful photography and pacing are extraordinary for beginners. Katz's earlier film, the ironically titled Dance Party, U.S.A. (hey, they're young) gently stands the teen exploitation genre on its head, and demonstrates his technique in an even more primitive form. By the way, the film runs 78 minutes; Dance Party, U.S.A. -- Katz's baby steps -- runs 65 minutes. |
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