Film: The Other Side of Paradise (http://www.theothersideofparadisemovie.com/)

Studio: Striped Socks Productions

Director: Justin D. Hilliard

Director of Photography: Ryan Hartsell

Written by: Justin D. Hilliard, Ryan Hartsell, and Arianne Martin

Principal Actors: Arianne Martin, John Elliott, Frank Mosley

Screening Date: September 18, 2009 Kansas International Film Festival

Film length: 115 minutes

Rating: unrated

Reviewed By: Deborah Ground Buckner

The Other Side of Paradise is a story of a road trip that becomes a true life journey. Rose (Arianne Martin) is on her way to Austin, Texas, for her first gallery opening showcasing her photographs. Joining her on the trip are her friend, Alex (John Eliott), just returned from Spain and, so he says, just out of a relationship, and her younger brother, Jamie (Frank Mosley) whom they pick up from prison as he is released. Also accompanying them is Rose's dog, Larry, an adorable friendly beast with a most unfriendly-looking underbite.

Rose and Alex have each been involved with other people and have found in each other a person to “hang out with,” much to the jealously of their partners. Now, with each seemingly free, their first meeting at the airport begins a romantic tension played with a sizzle. Miss Martin particularly captures this, everything said with a silly smile, punctuated with a nervous laugh.

Jamie emerges from prison aloof, yet magnetic. He is a character who inspires questions: Why was he in prison? What will he do next? Is he dangerous? What is he thinking? He takes his place in the backseat of Rose's beat-up station wagon and is more a witness than a participant in the banter of Rose and Alex.

The trio stop at the home of Rose and Jamie's father (Jodie Moore) where they meet their new step-mother, Courtney (brilliantly played by Susana Gibb), a woman three years older than Rose, eight months pregnant, and, as Alex puts it, “like Dolly Parton on crack.” Courtney innocently asks if Rose's mother will be attending the gallery opening since she lives so near to Austin. Jamie and Rose confront their father and learn the mother they have never known and assumed was living overseas has been in Texas for years. Jamie's plans to stay with his father are altered, and a detour is added to the gallery trip.

Through the course of their journey, the three encounter a series of fascinating characters, from a sullen waitress, to a gun-toting redneck, a mortician-like hotel manager, and a swinging couple in the room next door. Alex and Rose's relationship takes more twists and turns than a rollercoaster and reaches a point, like the end of a fast and furious ride, mingled with exhilaration and serenity. Miss Martin displays the full range of emotions from giddy nervousness to passion to devastation to cool professionalism.

The cinematography by Ryan Hartsell completely captures the trek across Texas, taking the audience along interstates to small towns through the countryside and to a redneck's ranch house with an above-ground pool. Camera angles from the front and back and sides almost put the viewer right in the station wagon with the trio.

The music, provided by Stanton, makes a wonderful soundtrack, perfectly underscoring the action without dominating. It is a good fit that highlights the emotions of the characters.

All these good parts make for entertaining viewing, but to make a great film, a little more editing is required. There are times when the camera shots of the station wagon driving down the interstate go on too long. It is wonderful to take the viewers along on the road trip, but not show much that we feel ourselves in the backseat whining “Are we there yet?” A violent fist fight seems out of place enough in a film billed as a “comedy,” but if it must be there, the focus should be on the flying punches and not the resulting battered face. One of the hardest parts of editing is knowing when to cut a perfectly lovely vignette or a clever line for the good of the whole. Some of the side adventures, though entertaining, really do not serve to keep the plot moving or to develop the characters, and the film could do without them. But the film is good as it stands, revealing a broad range of talent that will leave audiences anticipating the next work from this team.

The Other Side of Paradise received honors as Best of Fest at the Southern Winds Film Festival.

Written by :

Deborah

 

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed