Before You Know It

Greetings again from the darkness. The world of cinema has been slow to evolve, but these days we are getting more projects with women telling stories about women ... and this one from director Hannah Pearl Utt, who co-wrote the script with Jen Tullock does it pretty well. Both also star in the film, and casting themselves proves very effective at delivering the message. I saw it earlier this year at the Dallas International Film Festival.

"Stage Manager" (and writer) Rachel (Ms. Utt) and actress Jackie (Ms. Tullock) are sisters who live a kind of bohemian lifestyle above a community theatre with their playwright dad (Mandy Patinkin) and Jackie's 12 year old daughter Dodge (Oona Yaffe). There are daily struggles with this family. Money is always scarce. Dodge is growing up fast. Jackie and Rachel have very few career options, and Dad is a stubborn man who had one successful play and many that were, umm, not so successful.

An unexpected development has the grown sisters accidentally discovering their mother is not deceased (as they had lived most of their lives believing), but rather a famous soap opera actress (a terrific Judith Light). The rest of the story has this broken family trying to connect, while overcoming the assumptions that had been made based on a family history created by trying to protect kids from the truth.

Humor is injected to help soften some of the more emotional and dramatic moments, and there is a sense that the story-telling of Woody Allen films was an influence ... plus there's a visual near the end that evokes memories of MANHATTAN. Supporting work is provided by Mike Colter ("Luke Cage"), Alec Baldwin, Tim Daly, Peter Jacobson and newcomer Arica Himmel. The film also tosses in a hilarious 'caterer' line in regards to fashion, a singing Manny Patinkin, and most importantly, some terrific insight from two talented filmmakers.

While it is often uneven, the characters are engaging and honest. Their flaws make them relatable. You might ask yourself why they would do something so foolish, but you are really frustrated with the same mistakes you make in your own life. In this alone the movie soars in forcing self-reflection from it's audience.

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT is not the sort of film that's for everyone. And that's actually sort of what made it stand out to me. While I liked it, I know that for most it will be more of a "love it or hate it" type of thing.

It's a unique story, wonderfully acted and powerfully directed. The cinematography is great. There are a few moments that I didn't particularly care for, but overall I enjoyed it. Recommend.

The directorial debut of Hannah Pearl Utt is sincere and enjoyable. While there are some issues with pacing and consistency in mood, I found each story in the film to be interesting and important. The subtle and thoughtful acting and storytelling won't be for everyone but this is a quiet and thoughtful film that deserves consideration. I look forward to future films from the young director!

I'm not sure what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting it to be great. It was a little disappointing. It seemed like a movie written by actors, for actors. The characters were a bit quirky, but not much different than those I've seen many times before. And none of them were particularly likable. In fact, most of them were a bit on the annoying side. And the story was merely so so. Again, I'm not saying it was a bad movie, just not anything to write home about. I think one of the worst things about doing movie reviews on IMDB is that you're required to write 600 words. Or is it characters? There! I'm done!