Much like another commentor, I was invited to the Premiere by some Michigan friends who had heard good things about it. This was my first experience going to a movie premiere in the Detroit area, so my wife and I gladly burned three-and-a-half hours worth a gas to attend. Unfortunately, "Dark Tomorrow" was also my first experience in how uncomfortable it can be to sit through a bad film while surrounded by the people who made it.
The film tells the tale of John Wesley (Chris Moller) who wakes up after a night of boozing only to find that, not only has one year passed, but also he has killed his fiance' and escaped from prison, and he has no recollection of any of it. A news crew, shooting a story outside his house, gives chase, and John winds up running all over town for a good portion of the next fifteen to twenty minutes of the film. In one scene, he steals a car. Then it cuts to a different scene, then when it cuts back to John, he is magically running yet again. Where'd that car go? And what was the purpose of even having that scene in the film?
After a bit more running, John arrives at his friend Joe Freeman's (Mike Merna) house. Joe Freeman, in this past year, has written a book about John's bloody rampage, and after fighting with John and stabbing him in the leg, has no problem sitting down and telling him his recollections of the events of that fateful evening.
I don't want to give away more plot, because there really isn't much else until we get to the "twist" ending - an ending that is often used and rarely done correctly, and in "Dark Tomorrow," causes a state of confusion that borders on annoyance.
THE GOOD:
- There were two shots in the film that I liked. One is an interesting low angle of Alex Safi after an argument with his wife, the other is another intresting low angle of Chris Moller with a lovely composite sky behind him.
THE BAD:
- The story is cliche' beyond comprehension, and filled with holes that can't be filled without a complete reshoot of the film.
- I often notice in Indie films that directors feel they need to fill every waking moment of their masterpiece with music. So, with every scene change in "Dark Tomorrow," we have a drastic change in musical accompaniment that jars you out of the context of the film.
- At one point, John (Moller) goes to a cemetary where he and his girlfriend used to have picnics (which I still don't understand), and discovers her grave. That grave is a piece of cardboard with hand-scrawled "Here Lies" lettering, and is a laughably bad prop. This, to me, indicated that the makers of this film just stopped caring about trying to create a reality, and shot things that no one in their right mind would do.
THE UGLY:
- The lighting is also fairly typical of indie films - flat, even, and spruced with sporadic colored gels for "symbolic mood." This is a film noir. This film should be high contrast and moody, not lit more flatly than a soap opera.
-CONTINUITY - always a problem, it seems. Often, continuity issues can be forgiven as simple oversights. However, things like eyeline continuity (i.e. person1 and person2 are facing each other, talking. Cut to close-up of person1 talking facing the left - Cut to person2 talking to person1, but for some reason facing left as well) and the aforementioned plot hole with the car, are unforgivable sins, even for a first feature.
CONCLUSION:
As said, this was a first feature. John Goins deserves congratulations on creating a feature film. However, Mr. Goins, you're gonna need a bit more practice.
