About Turner Risk... the camera angles, music, editing, etc., were all perfectly merged together. There is real quality here and it is great seeing Nick Fink and the other actors in their first film. Storywise, a little more comic relief could have helped relieve the tension that builds over time. But despite the dark tone, the story really pulled me in.
Strong directing and writing too. The dialogue was unique in that it helped define the characters, making them more like real people we might know. Each character talked in his/her own way consistently, building each characterization.
The biggest part of the film's success with me was that it isn't like any other film out there. Every traditional plot point was twisted to something new and unexpected. I suppose that wouldn't work for those wanting to see a story they're more familiar with, but for me, this was far more fresh and real. This one also starts right off and doesn't let up too, moving from one eventful moment to the next, all of them connected in some way to that final shot. It kept my attention from start to finish.
By the end of the film I felt like I had gone through that intense day with them all. It was so very personal in many ways, the way it managed so many different character's innermost issues with life and each other. When Robbie looks at that tree at the end and remembers his cousin's advice at the beginning of the film, everything came together. Be the tree... It reminds us that sometimes unexpected changes hit us hard, but there's no way to prepare for them, just learn to stay strong and adapt. That's the ultimate lesson here.
This little film is worth catching. For me, Turner Risk is current, provocative, and unexpectedly powerful.
