Particles of Truth

There are, it seems, prototypes for all movie genres out there: there's the teenage prototype, the romance prototype, drama, comedy, etc. The new addition to genres combines all movies under a generalization - indie - that's all-encompassing, but cheaply made.

"Particles of Truth" may be the prototype for this genre. It's got everything every other indie film professes to have: "deep" insight with cliché observations on life; bad camera work that begs for a tripod; production that demands better lighting; unheard-of music; relatively unknown actors; drugs; depressed people; funny people; trashy people; people with parent problems (esp. with the father); and the we're-weird-but-we're-really-normal-in-light-of-everyone-else main characters.

While I'm sure that some people might find "Particles" to be a careful and mind-blowing and revolutionary examination of truth, to me, it's like every other "alternative" film out there. Not only that, but its indie pretension is unbearable; the unusual camera angles that are the mark of low-budget films are irritating, and one keeps thinking, "Jesus, will somebody please stand on a table whilst holding that camera or something?" Otherwise, all the butt shots and four-foot sitting-eye-level footage really take a toll on one's patience.

I suppose that's my biggest complaint against this film: nothing about it feels original, which seems against the MO of the entire institution of indie film-making. Aren't these films, which aren't produced by big companies with big company interests, supposed to reveal something new, something that wasn't exhaustively covered by studio films like Paramount or Warner Brothers?

This film was given to me by a friend for two reasons: 1)she loves Gale Harold as a result of his role on "Queer as Folk" and 2)like the protagonist Lilli Black, I paint. Consequently, I wanted to like this movie, I tried to like this movie... but all I could get into was the soundtrack. I wish I could've read the music credits at the end; maybe I need a bigger TV.

The good news: There are threads of a good (movie) story that exist in this film. The camera work is great, the atmosphere compelling, the music evocative. Larry Pine and Leslie Lyles (as the Wileys, Gale Harold's parents) turn in the most honest performances. I was disappointed at the lack of depth in their storyline; there was a real start of something there.

The bad news is simple: this film tries. There is a very contrived quality that overshadows the whole film because the audience (at least this one) recognizes that the director is trying to get us to feel something. The story was full of meaning and angst, with a very unfulfilling explanation of its origins. The viewer is not allowed to come to any conclusions on their own because the whole of the movie is leading them from symbol to indicator to cliché; in short, everything people resent about bad poetry.

With all due respect, this film (for me) is a perfect argument for keeping directors on one side of the camera. Yes, it works for a select few to act and direct, but those individuals (usually) have a clear idea of who the film should be about, and foresight enough to let someone else be the star. Maybe the director made the film she set out to make. It's just possible, however, that a singular focus on directing the film would've revealed the movie's true strength: the characters who made the protagonists who they were, not the angst they forced on the world as a result. The last twenty years of pop culture have given us our fill of angst and blame, but that wounded family dynamic will hit home almost every time. It needs to be honest, though, or it turns into a poor excuse for a life-long tantrum. And nobody wants to watch a movie about that.

I have seen Particles of Truth when it previewed at the Tribecca Film Festival two years ago and when it appeared on the Sundance Channel this past December.

Impeccably casted, suburb acting, excellent soundtrack and not one minute of boredom is how I came up with a 10 rating for Particles.

I don't know how anyone could leave the theater without seeing themselves in at least one of the main characters. And just when things became to unbearable sad, Ms. Elster was able to sprinkle in just enough humor to lighten things up.

The worse part about Particles is that it had to end.

Hopefully Ms. Elster will be putting out some more Indies in the near future.

A very grim effort, well acted. Larry Pine, for example, gives one of many understated performances. Taj Crown is hilarious as a stoned pizza shop worker.

I commend Elster for not letting the angst-addled script and her relative inexperience go by the wayside of over-the-top performances.

I saw it on the Sundance Channel during their New Voices night. I wish Elster the best but if I had the chance to do it again-I wouldn't.

If I want to see pain, suffering, depression and agony, I'll make a movie of my own life.

First the bad news: Particles of Truth is a real mope fest of self-pitying characters, each trying to out- dysfunction the other.

The main character, Lily (writer, producer, director & star Jennifer Elster) is an emotional mess because she was the product of a screwed up family (surprise!). She is an unappealing and unsympathetic character and that is the crux of the problem with the film.

Another problem is that none of this suffering is, in any way, new or interesting. We've seen all these gritty, pathetic people before. To make matters worse, some of the dialogue is cringingly pretentious.

Now the good news: Queer as Folk's Gale Harold is great as Morrison, a reclusive germ-fearing writer. He is the strongest, most likable and most realistic character in the bunch. He and Lily develop a tenuous relationship that scares her to the point of puking in his antiseptic bathroom. Despite Morrison's fears, he admits to Lily that he cares about her and proves it by venturing into the subway to find her (a germophobe's nightmare). He also manages to pull himself together to attend her art show.

There is real chemistry between Lily and Morrison and there is something endearing about watching these two people, who find it so hard to function in the world, manage to come together.

The soundtrack is great too.

Oh, and Gale Harold looks better in a shower cap than any man has a right to.