Determinism

Determinism is a micro-budget thriller pitting an immigrant college student against the harsh realities of life and crime. To start off, Determinism has decent cinematography and camera movements that make scenes enjoyable and interesting to watch but the acting and poor audio in this film brings it down. The script here is more than likely something that looked better on paper than it did on film. The dialog is really sub-par, one scene in particular that kills me is a scene in a pool hall between our two lead characters. They're playing pool and talking in a teenage angst tone, it makes the audience wonder whether or not these are college students or not. The names of the characters are hard to keep track of even after each of them gets their own intro via a poorly constructed knockoff version of Facebook profiles that all say pretty much the same thing about themselves. The point of a film is to have contrasting characters that your leads can benefit off of. The film itself doesn't create that, it puts the audience in one bad scene after another with rich college kids trying to play drug dealers on a sleepy college campus. It turns out to be laughable. Despite these amateur mistakes, there is a storyline to be had here, it is just never touched upon in any remotely artistic way possible. Overall, Determinism is a micro-budget indie thriller that had the right intentions going into it but it still fails to bring anything remotely new or interesting to the table. It suffers from poorly written dialog, miscast actors and misguided direction. If you want to check this film out, it is on Netflix streaming or you can rent it on Amazon or iTunes.

The setting… a 'college town' dubbed so for its locality to Burroughs University. A community of juxtaposed local and student populations. This is Narakville, nestled within a mountain-locked rural nowhere in Central Pennsylvania. The 'hardened of heart' victim of circumstance… ALEC (Sanjit Majumdar), a first generation American of South-Asian decent, mentally exhausted by efforts to fit in fails out of school and as a consequence is completely cut off by his working-class family. In hindsight, having suffered 3 years at Burroughs University, ALEC has come to resent the predominantly white student body, their unearned sense of privilege, and misinformed notions of entitlement. Worse still, their endless parade of contemptuously polite interrogations motivated by misinformed assumptions regarding his ethnic and cultural heritage. ALEC, has become an embittered 'constant foreigner' in his own country, numbing himself to the severity of his crisis in noir like fashion, hard whiskey and cigarettes, coming to conclude, in Narakville, he is defined by this label of 'other' and if labeled thusly, expected to simply act accordingly… then his only recourse is escape; and he will, or die trying.

The plan… First and foremost get cash quick and enough to successfully abandon his life and start new. Cut off from family and no source of income, enter JEFF (GEOFFRY OHEN), Narakville's 'underground entrepreneur' trafficker, dealer, all around 'baller', and University dropout. JEFF's business is booming and so, ALEC enlists the aid of his only friend, a small town all-American white boy, TRISTAN (RYAN LEWIS). An oddly antagonistic relationship held together more so by an unacknowledged resentment and guilt by association rather than friendship. Mutually destructive to one another in some way or other, the two venture down a winding path paved with robbery, murder, double-crosses, and an entire rouges gallery of students by day hustlers by night. All of whose lives fatefully intertwine with ALEC and TRISTAN's in a 'neo-noir' saga of determinative consequence.

Truth be told, the film spins many tales, each a look into the lives and grinds of a multicultural menagerie of collegiate hustlers, the central focus throughout however being 'the ballad of ALEC'. An emotively controlled performance by Sanjit Majumdar, in complete emotional command of this character, most notably in a compelling third act moment of vulnerability, his performance is alive with a raw expression of inadequacy and regret. Ryan Lewis as TRISTAN, draws upon subtle nuances making expressive choices that add depth to his character's development and raise questions as to the extent of his loyalty to ALEC; and together they have an engaging on screen chemistry. With surprisingly good lead performances, the same can be said about the remaining ensemble cast, delivering well crafted support and greatly adding to 'DETERMINISM's legitimacy as high quality filmmaking of the theatrical caliber. Most notable are ISMAEL INIGUEZ as WALLINGTON undergrad by day turned 'rookie hustler' by night to keep up with rising costs of tuition, PHILIP NARSH's complete embodiment of DELO, junior in the College of Business and former 'street pharmacist', ear on the streets, and amicable acquaintance of ALEC's. Lastly, MIKE PREYER who makes an effortlessly genuine and committed feature film debut in the role of KALLEN 'king of the bottom-feeders'. These characters contribute greatly in widening the overall scope of the film, making the world in which 'DETERMINISM' takes place exponentially more authentic.

Photographically, 'DETERMINISM' is graceful and sincere, with an elegance to match, camouflaging the not-so-obvious independent production values and 'no-name' cast under a guise of magnificently impressive camera work, the quality of which is refreshingly original yet reminiscent of that of films not scene since the last great class of Filmmakers set upon the world. Complemented by a nostalgic and classically noir score that I can only describe as new wave mash-up of VANGELIS (BLADERUNNER) and TANGERINE DREAM (MANHUNTER) and accompanied by a careful selection of classical orchestral pieces accent 'DETERMINISM' with a distinctive sound track.

This near faultless canon of film noir inspired entertainment, an independent gem in a contemporary genre seldom done well. 'DETERMINISM' is intelligent, but more to the point, thought-provoking filmmaking. Financed on a shoestring budget and quarterbacked lock, stock and barrel by identical twins residing in Jackson Heights, N.Y. The Majumdar Bros. have crafted here in sublime execution, a memoir as it were, embracing in brilliant blends, only the most fundamental elements of this dark atmospheric genre with a fresh voice entirely of their own and fearless photographic prowess unspoiled by 'big budget' cliché. An alternatively stylized tale thematically layered with social commentary, 'DETERMINISM' explores the sum of all human behavior, decision, and action causally motivated solely by a condition of choice against the nature of alienation, loyalty, and personal identity.