Marin Blue

The story starts in a mental ward and ends in a high school classroom. But in fact, it's the other way around. Or is it? Writer-director-composer-producer Matthew Hysell takes all the chances to keep his audience in a state of limbo as to the actual storyline of his feature debut. Good thing we have his cast to keep us company. Pill-popping Marlin Blue herself (Najarra Townsend), a teenage narcoleptic, is wonderful, a sleeping beauty if I ever saw one, but also pretty cheeky. Think Nicole Scherzinger's really cute little sister. Action isn't her thing, but she looks great not taking any. Her soul mate Jim (Cory Knauf), he's a guy who has forgotten many things, but he sure knows he likes his coffee. Anyone with that kind a craving for coffee can't be all bad, and he isn't. An outcast and the object of a mysterious family feud, Jim keeps trying to make a fresh start. I recommend you go see if this you liked both "Memento" and "When Strangers Appear", but don't expect the finished look and feel of either. "Marin Blue" is a first feature, after all.