Brutal Season

Saw this movie at the Phoenix film Festival, where it won an award for best ensemble. This is so well deserved because every actor convincingly portrays their respective character whose personalities are so well-developed, and revealed to us bits at a time to a powerful, emotional and memorable conclusion.

The movie is set in Red Hook, New York, 1948. The Trouth barely survives on no income in a sweltering hot New York apartment. Even so, there is family harmony. But things take a turn when the prodigal son returns after being gone 12 years.

What I love the most is that this film is like none that I've seen in recent history. Perhaps best described as film noir. But whatever it is, it sticks with you and gives you much to contemplate as you leave the theater and beyond.

This tension filled drama set in the late 1940s, is also a tip of the cap to movies of that era. Hitchcock's Rope comes to mind. Basically a chamber play, the confined space of the small apartment adds to the tension building throughout the movie as the Trouth family navigates through a hot summer and it's disruption by the return of a wayward son. The ensemble cast, each struggling with its own issues carry the story to its dark conclusion. The cinematography stretches itself creatively to keep confines of the space interesting, and the musical score brings the story together beautifully. This a classic movie lovers movie for sure.