Home

I checked this out because I enjoy Matt Zoller Seitz's other work - I enjoyed this movie a lot, not being what I expected, but is definitely my type of movie. This movie feels real - it may not be everybody's type of movie but I liked it.

After watching this movie at River Run International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, I feel that I was not in the movie theater but at the actual party. I felt the raw emotion of each character as I watched the reality of life invite me into the party's fun but sometimes cruel, selfish character lines. Susan in particular pulled me in - so few words but so much emotion... it made me feel that I never wanted to go through the single life again but at the same time embrace the memories of yesterday. As the writer so eloquently stated after this movie, for me, this movie really was home - a place of stability and perfect imperfections.

I am not someone who gets all that turned on by most small indie films - either they work for me or they don't. "Home" worked - it worked the party, even!!!

Two comparisons to other filmmaker's work I can make are A) Altman and 2) Scorsese; the former due mostly to a seemingly effortless tapestry weave and the latter due to a wonderful, ongoing music meld.

It's rare that I see an indie film that feels fresh, and I'm certain that I've never seen a party portrayed as effectively and true as in "Home".

It begins small, with 4 or 5 people, and methodically grows, all the while following the main character Bobby's perceptions & observations. From time to time new people simply "appear" at the party. They aren't always introduced and it doesn't matter. That's the way parties operate and writer/director Seitz nails it. Sometimes things get ugly, sometimes things are sweet. Think Blake Edwards' "The Party", only contemporary and minus the slapstick.

The cast is exceptional across the board, but I gotta give high props indeed to Jason Liebrecht, who reminds me of Tarantino (his suit may be a factor), if only Tarantino were younger and could act. This guy really should go places. He was absolutely worth following around for 90 minutes. Erin Visslailli was the other standout; she's got this wonderful sense of strength that comes through in the subtlest of ways. I could line-list what I like about each actor, but suffice it to say they made a wonderful ensemble of believable people and there isn't any one person I didn't buy.

What's also admirable - from a behind-the-scenes standpoint - is that "Home" is written and directed by a film critic, Matt Zoller Seitz. When a critic steps up to the plate to put their money where their keyboard is, I consider it a hugely brave move. Few have the tenacity to do it; Rod Lurie and Bill Carter are a couple off the top of my head and I'd really like to see others who earn a living from the medium attempt the same.

This film really needs a nice DVD release or a shot at playing on The Sundance Channel or IFC. Highly recommended and best viewed with a bottle or two of fine wine, perhaps even in an intimate party setting of your own design.

If you ever wanted to know what it might be like to be a 20-something at a summer evening party in Brooklyn, Home brings it to you - right from the awkward early arrivals conversation to the last lingering geeky guy who continues to hope to get lucky.

Reminiscent of the kind of events I went to as an undergrad, Home's characters talk about their work and their relationships, drifting in and out of each other's conversations in a way I find I do less and less as a 30-something. As a result, I felt a kind of nostalgia for the people and situations in the film - the boyfriend stealer, the jilted crush, the pining for the cute guy who may or may not be interested - and how I felt at that age when it seemed like everything in life could be determined in the course of one evening's party.

I saw this film at the San Jose film festival, and have heard it will be shown at several other festivals this year, where I'd be interested in seeing it again. I'd also be interested in getting a copy of the soundtrack if it becomes available.

I saw Home at the Long Island International Film Expo and was immediately struck by the feelings of personal connection that I developed towards the characters. Matt Zoller Seitz, telling the story of a summer party in Brooklyn, seems to offer a curiously familiar glimpse into the inner worlds of numerous twenty-somethings who descend upon the brownstone.

The first few guests trickling in, the banter among them, the formation of various cliques, the whimsical motion of individuals between circles, the excitement of interacting with new people, the questions of where these relationships may go--such scenes transport the viewer to a living world of collision and connection over the course of an evening.

While most movies about parties focus on drug abuse and sexual conquest as topics to easily draw a crowd's attention, Home is laced with subtle emotional currents and realistic encounters. Congratulations to Matt Seitz and his terrific cast.