Arc

When I saw the film at Indie Gathering I was absolutely floored, I sat in my seat absorbing all that I could. The progression of the character was a thing of desire, because it wasn't a traditional love story or good verses evil it was a well thought out script that had twisted and turns and ups and downs but it made you want to watch more and more. Peter's performance was just amazing and my hat goes off to him. It was very noticeable that he loved the character and made it his own. Thanks for the great film and I look forward to seeing of ARC and other projects that Robert has up his sleeve.

Derrick Mullins

A friend of mine recommended Rob Gunnerson's ARC to me a while ago. He had seen it at a festival and was raving about what a powerful piece of film-making it is. I recently had the pleasure of catching it at the Hollywood Film Festival and my expectations were surpassed by leaps and bounds.

ARC is packaged deceptively. It's opening is stylish, hip, disaffected and edgy. It's a world of drug dealers, smut hustlers and hookers, beautifully expressed in black and white with bursts of isolated color. What's brilliant about this film, however, is that about a third of the way through, it rips the unwritten contract between filmmaker and audience in half. The film abruptly shifts from edgy and disaffected to vulnerable and human.

It's in this jarring break that I truly connected with Gunnerson's main characters: a drug dealer and a prostitute. Regardless of what they do for a living or what they've made of their lives, what's at their core is made so identifiable by the filmmakers that it was impossible not to see myself in their shoes.

Which is scary as hell considering the world they're in.

Once he's cast his spell and has your gut, Gunnerson, takes characters and audience deep into one of the darker worlds I've seen on screen in quite some time. I could hear the audience around me squirm as the film edged towards a climax that is at once cruel, touching, and very, very powerful.

My hat's off to the entire cast (Peter Facinelli must be seen to be believed) for giving this indie film performances that can only be described as art.

The director and D.P.'s collaboration should also be celebrated. The film and its look feels so tailor-made for it's DV format that frankly, it doesn't feel like DV… it just feels distinctly THIS FILM.

Clearly talented, Gunnerson has achieved the alchemy all directors strive for, which is creating, out of nothing, a powerful, unique and emotional experience that stays with you. I hope he makes more soon.

I absolutely loved it (ARC)! The acting, wardrobe, cinematography and everything else in the film was utterly amazing. The film's movement kept me intently watching and guessing. And if that wasn't enough, the final message revealing the plot was beautiful.

The character developments - and changes as the film progressed - was unexpected but perfectly understandable. It was highly believable that anyone under these circumstances would behave and change the same way.

And, lastly, the way the film used black and white and color, and the meanings thereof, was brilliant. I will see this one over and over again.

--- Jay Rossi (The Jay Rossi Project)

Arc is the story of an ex-cop turned drug addict who teams up with a prostitute named Maya Gibbs to find a missing child to somehow redeem himself. Paris Pritchert is the junkie and pusher who remains high constantly, while in pursuit of the vanished kid. The hooker quotes Maya Angelou because she is very well read, in spite of her chosen profession. The usual mix of street characters and a doctor who likes boys, plus the expected tough and smart cop who helps Paris out for old times sake.

The cop and the hooker start out rocky, but over time develop a friendship, which is standard in these kind of dramas. The acting is o.k. and the script nothing special, with the streets of Los Angeles used as a realistic and gritty backdrop. Arc doesn't break any new ground; it is just another cop gone bad movie.

Forget whatever it is you know about Peter Facinelli from "Can't Hardly Wait" or the canceled series "Fastlane" -- neither of those projects even hinted at the depth he taps into here. Under the direction of Robert Ethan Gunnerson (this is one of the strongest debuts in recent memory), Facinelli is born again as an actor. Equally impressive is the debut of Raina-Simone Moore, who brings refreshing earthiness and wit to what could have been a stock character.

There are a lot of preconceived notions about "drug dramas," but this film should be seen first and foremost as a human drama. Instead of going for the trippy style of "Requiem for a Dream" or the barebones realism of "Drugstore Cowboy" -- Gunnerson wisely doesn't aim for one extreme. He also makes striking use of selective coloring, with colored objects popping out of black-and-white frames. In the hands of a lesser director, this could be a distracting gimmick, but here it works beautifully, speaking volumes about each character.

Funny how the film's budget was well under a million dollars, and yet it is has so much more heart and soul than the $150 million "Miami Vice." Seek it out, and you'll feel like you've made a great discovery. Days after seeing it, I can't shake it -- and I don't want to.