Todd and Cory Edwards' first feature film, "Chillicothe" emerges into a culture awash in darkly menacing media images as a refreshing effort. After a seemingly endless string of "Pulp Fiction" knock-offs by a variety of upstart filmmakers, "Chillicothe's" sensitive human drama, sincere without a trace of schmaltz, seems exotic. "Chillicothe " is the story of four male friends drifting along in the low-rent doldrums now common among recent college graduates. Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma and on the campus of a small Indiana liberal arts college, the movie follows the odyssey of the four friends as they make decisions about marriage and careers. One character, Wade, played by Todd Edwards, becomes the story's focus early in the film. The four begin to disintegrate when one of the group marries the woman who agrees, in the story's opening moments, to go out with him if he shaves his gotee. Over the next few months, the remaining three friends split up. Wade and his older brother (played by real-life older brother Cory Edwards) move into an apartment together and the last of the four friends finds himself cloistered with two flamboyant, irritable Latin men. After a particularly soul numbing day running video editing machines for finicky ad executives, Wade abruptly departs for home where he re-enrolls in some art classes at his alma mater. In the end, the stability of familiar territory helps Wade confront the fear and indecision preventing him from pursuing his dream of becoming a painter. When we last see Wade he is working toward an advanced degree in painting at NYU. Unlike so many independent films of late, "Chillicothe" is strikingly original. In our post-Tarantino daze, contemporary films, especially small budget features, have tended toward obsession with darker human experiences and a technical and structural emphasis on creating a disjointed, pastiche feel. What makes "Chillicothe" different is its trust in the power of a simple story worth telling. While its drama emerges from a very familiar story, everything about the film seems fresh. In fact, it is the familiarity of its story that gives "Chillicothe" its power. It is a story for all of us who have felt lost and alone, dreaming of doing what we really want to do and of finding lasting love. Above all, it is its open-heartedness that gives "Chillicothe" an uncanny, but familiar feel. Like walking past a mirror in the hallway and for a split second thinking you are not alone. "Chillicothe" is a moving, engaging film with wide appeal, but perhaps especially so for those of us who meet ourselves head on in its characters. A world of contracting horizons, of vast moral confusion among our elders, and an addictive need for and paranoid fear of love , connection and roots has left many of us floundering outside the structured environment of college life. The story presented in "Chillicothe" is one of bravery among our peers in the face of these common threats. Ultimately, "Chillicothe" speaks so strongly about our generation because it speaks from a perspective of faith. Part of Wade's process of destiny seeking involves painting a mural in a Sunday School room. As his journey moves forward we see him sitting in church listening to a sermon. Without being preachy or condescending "Chillicothe" manages to show the practical difference faith can make in the lives of those who possess it.
Even though the film is ultimately affirming of both life and faith, it is not unambiguously so. It's ending is neither completely tidy nor happy, but definitely genuine. We are left not knowing exactly what will happen to Wade, knowing only that he is "out there". Out there taking those frightening steps in the direction of his calling, living a life of hope in the pursuit of an uncertain vocation, looking for the next step, nurturing a belief in the goodness of both life and the possibility of relationship. "Chillicothe" speaks about faith to a distrustful generation while maintaining integrity to a characteristically generation X perspective. The movie manages to bring forth a traditional story in a way that seems fully modern, full of pop culture references and the longing for love and clarity so many in this generation feel. The Edward's brothers first offering sets the agenda for a new genre of film that, like many gen Xer's themselves, looks at life with an eye washed clean with tears, indulging no illusions, yet stubbornly aspiring to a life of bravery and of hope.
