I went into this film with no knowledge of the plot and only a quick glance at the movie poster. From Mr. Barrington's mode of dress I assumed it would be a period piece; perhaps a romantic comedy or Merchant and Ivory sort of film. Oh boy was I in for a surprise...
This film features one of the most beautiful relationships I have ever seen on film. The love between Lila and Samuel felt very real and very complex. Jennifer Nichole Porter wrote and delivered Lila's dialogue with wonderful restraint. Eric Schweig's handling of Samuel's emotions showed just how much he cared about the project. I would recommend the film simply for how well these two actors perform together under Dana Packard's direction, but that would ignore the film's other two great strengths: Brian McCardie's acting and Eric Goldstein's cinematography.
Brian McCardie has done some great work in the past, but he is a knockout in this role. The impish intensity he brings to his performance moves effortlessly between endearing and threatening with a simple cock of the head or a flash of his teeth.
And then there is the cinematography. Eric Goldstein creates wonderful atmospheres of light and shadow for the characters to inhabit. There is a quality to the film that makes it hard to place geographically, and I have a feeling this was intentional. The way Eric Goldstein lights the exteriors at night makes it feel like a Southern locale.
That this is Dana Packard's first feature came as a surprise to me. Both his direction and Jennifer Nichole Porter's writing seemed far more assured than that. So, I highly recommend this film!
