stevenhughnelson

Wow.

It's rare that a film comes along that you can say is truly unique, original, visionary. MAN GOES ON RANT doesn't allow itself to easily be categorized - it's a high-energy, anxiety-filled, dread-inducing cathartic drama/horror/comedy/satire fever dream. I've never been this stressed out while laughing my ass off.

Writer/Director/Producer Peter Curtis Pardini starts his movie with his foot on the gas and never lets up, guiding us across the past several decades of American history through the perspective of a manic, paranoid conspiracy theorist. Utilizing a relentless score and nonstop editing - both roles that Peter also nailed - we're put directly into the shoes of someone that most of us would typically judge and write off. However, there's an undercurrent of sadness and raw emotional honesty that allows us to connect with and sympathize for the titular Man, brilliantly brought to life by Brian Villalobos.

This could've been a one-note character, a role based on judgment and stereotypes. But Brian offers us a window into a hurt, vulnerable man flailing and spiraling through life, yearning for purpose and human connection. Through his portrayal of anxiety, confusion, loneliness, doubt, and fear, we see ourselves. We understand and we laugh and we cry and we grapple with every emotion that's been buried and building inside of us with no place to escape except in a tortured scream into the void, hoping that someone somewhere cares and that all of this matters.

This is an absolute emotional roller coaster of differing tones and genres, rocketing us through an epic-scale story of humankind by focusing on the small-scale story of one single human. And sometimes, when it all seems like too much, a movie like this can come along and remind us that we're not alone and it will all be ok.