Linoleum

Saw this tonight at the first night of the Columbus Film Festival and Columbus local writer/director Colin West has created a stunning film.

Flowing through a beautiful film with a warm tone, West creates a world where dreams are followed, family is important, and the best in human nature ultimately wins out. Marvelous performances from Gaffigan. Katelyn Nacon, and Michael Ian Black (with a short notable performance by Tony Shalhoub) pay off with a heart warming ending that reminds me why I love movies.

There's a lot to digest here as the movie moves though sci-fi and fantasy while depicting typical days in our daily lives. But stick with this film though it's somewhat slow second act for the ending which put a big smile on my face as I walked out of the theater.

There are a lot of little stories and side plots and characters that are subtly intertwined and come together in the end. That may not make a lot of sense, but it might once you watch the movie. I can't imagine how someone could have the creativity to think of this movie, let alone write it. It kind of renews your faith in movies as a whole; a creative, original work can still be put out there.

This movie is categorized as comedy, drama, and sci-fi, but it's actually mostly drama. Also, I was expecting Jim Gaffigan to be wacky and funny, and he is quirky and humorous in the movie, but his role is mostly serious and he does a surprisingly good job.

Linoleum starts off as a quirky little indie comedy about a nice guy whose life isn't going so well and he gets an idea to build a rocket. There are all sorts of goofy confusing things happening and a few things that outright make no sense...until they do. The movie blindsided me with a hard turn towards the end that not only explained everything I didn't understand, but wrapped it all up into a neat package.

Jim Gaffigan was excellent! I was particularly impressed with the second character he played, who was more outside of his wheelhouse. He almost could have been mistaken for Ned Beatty at moments. Gabriel Rush is becoming a fine young actor. Rhea Seehorn is good, but she needs to break out from that career oriented woman role she always plays.

The overall look and feel of the movie was just right. I'll be keep an eye out for this director. I may be a little be generous with an 8, but I'm rounding up.

This movie has its funny moments but is definitely not a comedy. Jim Gaffigan is great. Rhea is great. The movie is more like Cloud Atlas though. When it all comes together at the end, one is pleasantly surprised. We were waiting for the funny that never really happened. Couple of plot holes that are never filled in. Glad it was only six dollars to watch. I'd recommend waiting till it's free somewhere. Jim Gaffigan shows he can do drama in this one. You see some of Rhea Seahorn's fun side toward the end but she could extend upon that. I'm glad I rented this flick but it was definitely not a typical comedy.

I thought I was watching paint dry as I watched this film play out and in many ways I was. The slow pace, bland(ish) story and somewhat fantastical elements left me wondering where the film was taking me and why they had to present such mundane elements of life to get there. But I nevertheless persevered, motivated only by the hope that some radical conclusion could bring this story together and redeem the past 90 minutes I had been watching it for.

These 90 mins mostly comprised of reflections of failed careers, past regrets and a budding teenage romance all interspersed across the backdrop of a dysfunctional family's lives uprooted by the collision of a rocket in their backyard. Of course these tropes have been played out many times before and the film struggles to find originality in these core themes, though is nonetheless entertaining as it presents them through the lense of pop-science and the spacecraft that fueled our imaginations as children; a thematic element that strikes a deep chord of nostalgia throughout the film.

But make no mistake, this is a fantastic movie, because not only did the movie tie these seemingly separate stories together brilliantly, the movie concludes with one of the most poignant endings i've experienced in film for a very long time.

As each brush stroke played out across the screen it was not until the final stroke and the drying of the paint that it was clear where this movie was heading, and had been heading all along. A perfect reflection of the underlying tragedies experienced by the characters and the beauty of love persevering through it all.

Though my mind did correctly glance across possibilities of the conclusion before it ended and perhaps some allusions to the climax were a little on the nose, I nonetheless found tears streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks as the movie ended. While the credits rolled I left the film in a state of deep reflection, pondering the true nature of each character and the film's diverse imagery, this state of reflection I can only attest to being the quality of a great film.