Coda’s ongoing coverage of the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival & International Horror Sci-Fi Film Festival. I'll be using these posts to recap the films I've experienced as part of these festivals.
FLOURESECENT BEAST – Directed by Paul Osborne
A corporate office worker is sent on a clandestine mission from his executives.
The details of his tasks are kept cryptic and vague. Blindly, he must follow
the breadcrumbs of clues to discover the true nature of his assignment.
This film wasn’t even on
my radar when I originally made my festival schedule. But it garnered
considerable buzz from my fellow movie loving contemporaries, so I switch some
things up and made it to its final screening. I’m so glad I did as it turned
out to be one of the best films of this festival.
This is a film about
capitalism’s destructive force on artistry. It centers around Nelson Shell
(John T. Woods), a corporate pencil pusher that aspires to be a novelist but
can never seem to find the time, inspiration or even the justification to work
on his passion. As someone who would far rather be spending my time and energy
discussing and writing about cinema, I also struggle with the fact that my necessities
and the necessities of those who depend on me require gainful employment for
about 40 hours a week. As Meg (Dawn Brody) says here, it’s “what I do when I
don’t get to do what I do.”
Director Paul Osborne, who
also penned the screenplay tells this allegory with equal parts reminiscent of the
absurdity of BARTON FINK and the magical realism of THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. He
shows a clear flair for detail in both set design as well as dialogue. The
monologues and soliloquies are well thought and delivered prose that fit into
and add to the heightened reality in which this film exists. His uses of
montage and split screen were both clever and kept the pacing of the story at a
fevered clip.
His pregnant spouse,
Beth (Meg Cionni) was sort of a heightened version of a Stepford Wife. She’s
prim and proper, but in the most robotic way you could imagine. I think you must
take this as Nelson’s interpretation of her, based on the pressure he feels to
provide for his family. I think this reading of that character makes the most
sense considering the world we’re in. The executive, Mr. Hayden
(Patrick Day) that sends him on his mission explains that Nelson is nothing
more than a cog in the machine that keeps this world spinning (and spending).
Mr. Hayden is essentially a stand in for corporate overlords as a monolithic
entity, or possibly, capitalism itself. For this contextual reason, I came to
see Beth as just another machine part, specifically installed to keep Nelson
under pressure and on task. A different explanation of her character might veer
deep into chauvinism. In the end, I think Beth’s individuality was just another
casualty of corporate greed.
Ultimately, the thesis
of this film is consistent. Ventures for profit distract from artistic
endeavors. In fact, capitalism requires this distraction to survive. Nothing
cuts into corporate profits like individuals’ ability of self-fulfillment. And
artistic expression is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling ways to spend
one’s time and energy.
It certainly shouldn’t
be understated that a small-budget movie at a film festival is one of the few
places left that you are going to see the expression of this truth.
THELMA – Directed
by Josh Margolin
When 93-year-old Thelma Post (June Squib) gets scammed for $10,000, she sets out on a field trip across L.A.’s San Fernando Valley for payback.
I don’t have a whole lot
to say about this one. It was light and airy and a great way to end the
festival. Thelma is tired of being handled by her family with ‘kid gloves’ but
also needs to recognize what changes have come with her age. The film picks up
considerably when Richard Roundtree’s “Ben” is introduced and the two fly off
on his scooter. The tension of every action set piece is slower and more
difficult due to the characters’ age, but still supported by the types of
cinematography and score you would see in a Mission Impossible movie (which is
referenced heavily.) I’m not sure how much Squib did of her own stunts, but
these pieces were a lot of fun.
The film takes breaks
from the action to remind us to take the elderly seriously, but it thankfully
never beats us over the head with it.
This turned out to be
Rountree’s swan song and I think it’s a good note to end on. And it is also
part of the resurgence of 90’s indy icon, Parker Posey. I’m way here for that.
Overall, this is the
type of film that I hope ends up available to stream from one of those sites
that we all subscribe to. I don’t know how likely I am to purchase a copy, but
if it just pops up as a recommendation, I’d watch it again.
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