The Transcendents

I rented this from the local library and don't know why it was in the "rock doc" section. It's not a documentary at all. There's not even any of the fictional band's music in it. I was actually looking for the new Go Go's documentary. I guess the fact that there wasn't the band's music in it was smart, because the score is lush with an old school western vibe. And since the plot is a revenge plot, I see why the choice of western was made.

Anyway, the movie is actually very good. It's creepy and surreal. Even the casting was surreal. Like outside of Valentine from the Go Go's, I feel like I saw every other actor in a different strange indie or something. Sure enough, after I looked them up, they were in other strange films that i'd seen. Good casting.

Admittedly, I'm an editor so I pay attention to editing more than most people and most people don't pay attention to it at all -- nor should they. But the editing here has a very specific style that impressed me -- (a lot of this has to do with the DP and Director's style of shooting).

First -- In the scenes that take place in the modern day, there's a Bam/Bam "Smash Cut" style. Pretty much seems as though it represents the main character's anger and lack of focus on a revenge journey.

Second -- In the past, the scenes are clearly done with a heavily roaming handheld technique. I saw an earlier review that says this has to do with memory. It COULD. But I took it as a send off to "rock documentaries". In the past you see the band (The Transcendents) being formed and much like other rock docs, the camera crew is just lucky to be in the rooms and happy to grab whatever shot they could.

Finally -- There's these LOOOOOONG dolly shots that move into character's brains without any cutting. The characters go from being unreliable narrators to truth tellers before our very eyes. Its fascinating.

These three styles in editing, amongst many others in other departments make this film incredibly unsettling and a unique way of telling a haunting story of the past and present colliding.

The critic reviews point to this being Lynchian or even a horror film. It's not. It's a drifter film with the actor Rob Franco as the drifter. He gives a very weird performance that reminded me of 80s Rourke; in particular Rourke in the film Homeboy. Franco is dangerous and combustible. And he holds the film together in the second act - which is the only somewhat problematic act in the film. It still works, but compared to the high stakes absurdity of the first act and the beautiful sonata that is the third act, the second act underwhelms a bit. But that's only a minor quibble. The rest of the cast is terrific and the score is brilliant. I wish I could buy he score.

Watch this movie for the brilliantly performed monologue by the great Savannah Welch. It's the culmination of a character's descent in depravity. Like pealing away the layers of an onion. It's wonderfully written and the director really allows Welch to do her thing with an extremely long push in that stays at this insane close on her depraved face as she sets up a totally cathartic final act of the film.

Trippy film with a plot about tracking down a mysterious band. It follows the same structure of Eddie and the Cruisers in where you have the past (the formation of a band) colliding with the present (where the hell is this band now?). Unlike EATC, however, we never hear the band's music. (One single chord on a sitar at the end). I think this choice works really well as The Transcendents' (the band) music is not important to the story. (I'm also pretty sure that with all the well known musicians in the film, they could have had some great original music if they wanted to)

Which brings me to the acting. All the musician/actors are terrific. But the performance by Savanah Welch in the lead role is jaw droppingly good. Her character, Kim, doesn't start out as much (kinda bratty and annoying), but as the film builds momentum, the layers of her character are peeled away and you get this broken beauty that's hanging on to life by threads. LONG MONOLOGUE. (If you've seen Paris, Texas you'll understand.). The film probably has a debt to Paris, Texas as well with its weird leading man and desolate landscapes and long monologues.

Also, this isn't a movie about a cult. I don't know why the trailer looks like it's about a cult. Don't expect a story about a cult.