Marcus

What an amazing experience! Instantly get drawn into the story from the start. Beautifully shot and executed. A wonderful journey through the perception of someone dealing with mental health issues. This is a must see! Especially if you are an advocate of mental health.

Owen Miller gives a stunning performance while Katana Malone is outstanding in her's. Between the two of them prepare to have your heart wrenched out. This is a must see movie like no other, with a lasting empathetic impact. I am pleased that this story line served up tremendous emotions that brought me to tears several times. Marcus and many like him represent the real world and his story needs to be told, felt, embraced, and shared. J.R. Poli you are a genius director. Well Done!

Marcus is a film that tackles some subjects that are frequently mishandled in a lot of other media. Writer-Director JR Poli had a lot of heavy subjects to handle, and handled them aptly.

The performance of the lead, Owen Miller, is sharp and appropriate. The cinematography is brilliant as well.

Marcus, written and directed by J. R. Poli, stars Owen Miller as the titular character Marcus Howard, a grizzled and weary man whose world is falling apart all around him. After losing everything and teetering on the brink of ending it all, Marcus sets out to find his estranged daughter Gaby played by Katana Malone. With new life-changing revelations presented upon Marcus' arrival, the two near-virtual strangers work to see if forgiveness, absolution and reconciliation are even possible. Miller and Malone play well off of one another, giving us some of the film's strongest and most heart-felt moments.

But it is Miller's "monologued" moments that bear the most weight. Miller's performance, both figuratively and literally, illustrate the struggles we all face when dealing with societal expectations, social norms, imposter syndrome and one's own definition of success.

Composer Chris Coleman's melancholic score accents some the film's finest and heaviest moments. The motif in the climactic hospital scene in the third act is beautifully and hauntingly anchored by Coleman's soundscape, which replaces all of the sound and dialogue.

Marcus is a drama with some light-hearted moments that delve into some dark spaces and may even be triggering for some. This film tackles the imbalances of love, loss, family, mental health issues, abandonment, socio-economic struggles and touches on the state of our medical system, all real-world related matters. However, Marcus does not leave the viewer believing that they are alone. The talk Marcus has with a seemingly stranded driver on a highway overpass and the "under-the-door" conversation Marcus has with longtime friend Matt Boyd's (Todd Bruno) son Jackson (Greyson W. Poli) are two of the more endearing moments in the film. On the whole, Marcus dares to ask, can a person still find peace amongst what seems to be insurmountable instances of pain, struggle, heartache and setbacks in life.

Marcus is a beautifully written movie with a unique perspective on mental health. The shots were clean, acting felt very real and the plot will hit you at your core. The Director touches on a topic very prevalent in today's world and will leave you with a different outlook on life.