Ballast

"Ballast" is an independent film which many critics went "ballistic" with and was even nominated for several Independent Sprit Awards last year. Did it deserve it? No. Should it be ignored? No. "Ballast" stars Tarra Riggs as Marlee, an impoverished black mother living in rural Mississippi trying her best to make ends meat to raise her tweenage son James. James is a young drug addict who goes to extreme measures to support his drug habit. Example: James nonchalantly enters his Uncle Lawrence's home and holds him up at gunpoint to obtain money to purchase the drugs. Lawrence, "The Man From U.N.C.L.E. himself, depressive nature does not make him fight off the rebellious immaturity of James. Lawrence is profoundly grieving the suicide death of his twin brother Darrius, who was married to Marlee and is James' papa; even though Marlee & James despised Darrius because of his desertion of them both. Marlee eventually discovers James unrighteous ways and even loses her job. The desperate Marlee has no choice but to seek the assistance of neighbor Uncle Lawrence even though she has loathed him also because of his brother's actions. What happens next is a commending story of the power of connectivity of people going through harsh times and letting their unforgiving nature behind for the betterment of a child. Therefore, the central fixation is on sacrificing hang-ups in order to help a boy alter his self-destructive habits in order for him to have a promising & hopeful future. The performances of Michael Smith as Lawrence and the aforementioned Riggs as Marlee were authentically solid. Especially Smith's work, who spoke volumes with his non-verbal acting on the internal emotional pain of losing a loved one. JimMyron Ross as James was mediocre at best, but there were signs that with some more thespian training, the young Ross could have a successful acting future. Writer-Director Lance Hammer did nail the character development of the protagonists residing in poverty-stricken small town Mississippi, but I think Hammer screwed it up a bit on orchestrating too many stale & elongated scenes. Kudos does go out to the film's thematic & symbolist cinematography. "Ballast" is a mostly melancholy story which I do not think you will have a "ball" with, but it is a reliable moral narrative on the human nature of resiliency that deserves to be experienced. *** Average

I first became interested in Ballast when I heard about its setting: it's very rare to find a film set in the Mississippi Delta. It's also quite rare to find a serious drama with mostly black characters. I was afraid that this would either be a sappy melodrama or an attempt to make some "profound" point about how racism exists and is, like, bad and stuff. Thus I was quite pleased to find that this film manages to have a uniquely Southern setting without resorting to clichés or caricatures and that making some grand social statement is evidently the last thing on the mind of first time director Lance Hammer. Instead, we have a deliberately paced character study with a nicely handled mise en scene.

The film opens with the attempted suicide of Lawrence, a shopkeeper distressed over the (extremely) recent death of his twin brother/partner/only friend. Lawrence's recovery is complicated by his brother's will which indicates that the recently deceased man's ex-wife and teenage son are entitled to his share of the store and part of the property the brothers had co-habitated. Things start off tense due to the boy's involvement with some disreputable older boys that he owes money and stay that way due to Lawrence's troubled partnership with the boy's mother. This is a quiet, contemplative film for the most part and it offers no easy resolutions. Instead, it manages to realistically capture some unique characters in a woefully ignored section of American society.

I took a while to trust this film, since it is one of many new indies to start very slowly, with much that is unexplained and not only minimal sound effects, but in fact even minimal ambient sound. There's a number of new films that start this way and never get anywhere after that. Here however there's a slow but inevitable build, and much of what's unexplained becomes intuitively clear as the film progresses. The uncle's first few encounters with his nephew are beautifully set up and played, with their undercurrents clear early on. The story at one point becomes a bit predictable, but nonetheless engaging. The characters are very rich without any surface effort or telegraphing. I'm iffy on the ending, and I don't know that I'd want to watch a number of films like this in a row. But it has definite authority, and shows immense promise.

We saw this at Sundance 2008, and found it to be deliberately slow, but also quite thoughtful as it told the story of a man whose twin brother's suicide devastates him. The story extends to the dead man's ex wife and son and explores the aftermath of the suicide and its effects on these three characters. What makes this film impressive is that the actors involved in almost every role had never acted before. The director revealed to us at the Q&A session that he had gone to churches in the Mississippi Delta and recruited people to be in his film. Also notable is the sound, or lack thereof. Instead of a busy, noisy soundtrack, this was a quiet film with very little music, relying instead on the ambient noise of the area in which it was filmed. We enjoyed the film and wish the director and the actors much success.

A movie about life after suicide can be very hard to depict, Ballast brings out the reality of life after suicide and the consequences of those actions. Filming in the South was excellent. The realness of what can happen after suicide was depicted in James' character. So many kids who loose a parent (especially a father) turn to the rough side of life. Marlee and Lawrence's characters were so real. Both of them should be commended for their acting skills. This is a must see film. The entire cast was very good. Lance Hammer did an excellent job in writing, directing, and producing this film.I was wondering if this was written from true accounts? The plot is so real to what is happening today, especially in the south. James and Lawrence's characters were very believable. Using local non-professional actors was risky, but all of them did an awesome job. There is so much talent in the south. Kudos to the entire cast including those who spoke only by body language.I hope this film wins lots of awards. I hope to see more of Lance Hammer's work.