Stuck Between Stations

I almost passed on this film based on the movie trailer which was interesting, but didn't really grab me. Luckily, this is one of those films where the movie is actually far better than the trailer. The writing was realistic, the banter is entertaining without being precious or too-clever, and the characters were engaging. Altogether, this movie was charming and surprising. It managed to avoid the pitfalls of the genre (one night shot at romance)through solid writing and great casting. The Minneapolis setting is also unique because I had not seen that side of the city before. I saw this in the DUMBO area of Brooklyn at ReRun Gastropub Theatre which I credit as a wonderful venue, but No matter how you view it, check out this lovely film. You are unlikely to be disappointed.

I was forced to watch this snore fest by my girlfriend who wanted to see it because Josh Hartnet is in it. He appears a third of the way through for a total of 3 minutes. He is utterly boring, in keeping with the boring direction, dialog, and lack of action the producer and director of this "movie" seem to be hell bent on subjecting us to. My girlfriend was so bored she quit watching after Hartnet's useless character disappeared. (Josh was probably too bored to continue). If you want to see boring people saying and doing boring things (at least for the half of the movie I saw), or, if you have misplaced your sleeping pills and need to become comatose quickly, this movie is for you. Seriously, we are forced to watch people saying and doing things that would be boring to us if we did them ourselves in real life. We get to watch people go to 3 or 4 bars and play video games! We get to see people ride bikes! A half hour of my life I'll never get back. Now I'm off to watch the Japanese film Hausu, a really GREAT movie!

Stuck Between Stations is a simple yet effective film that is definitely a mood. It takes place over the span of one night where we follow a soldier who is at home but getting ready to be deployed again. He runs into a high school acquaintance at a bar who he used to be attracted to and a little bit obsessed with, and the rest of the film is us following them through their night. The film moves at a steady pace and has a soothing quality about it. It's an extremely easy watch. During the night they encounter old friends of theirs. The soldiers friends bring up issues with his life decisions and the morality of being a tool for the military industrial complex and corporations while committing atrocities abroad, yet everyone is cordial and things are friendly during these discussions. It eventually becomes evident that the soldier is suffering from early signs of PTSD and begins to question his life decisions by the end of the film. He does everything he can to avoid the topic in detail, until he eventually opens up about his feelings. All that being said, this is just the backdrop to an otherwise light-hearted movie. Conversations are had over past traumas and just life in general. It invokes some sense of nostalgia in that it gets you to think about your own life choices and goals and what not, but not in a heavy handed way at all. It is a very sweet film and has a feel good quality about it that is reminiscent to films such as 'The Sunrise-Sunset-Midnight' trilogy. If you are easily "bored" and not a fan of methodically paced and simple films, then this won't be for you. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this and would recommend it.

Movies like 'Stuck between Stations' epitomize the principle that you don't need a great storyline, a great cast, a great set designer etc. etc. in order to please the average audience. Partly owing to the theme of the movie, and partly owing to my own pre-conceived notions about unidimensional romantic movies, I had started off with fairly low expectations on this one - but over the course of the next 80 minutes it hooked me to such an extent that I'm willing to stretch my neck out and say that it is as good as similar movies like 'Once', 'In Search of A Midnight Kiss' etc. etc. In fact, writing this, I'm only acutely aware that I may not be the best judge of future movies of the same genre as this one, as I will undeniably be favourably inclined towards them!

If you want to watch a movie that will make you want to look at your old, dusty high-school photographs - to reminisce and compare, what you were then and what you are now, and how everyone you knew back then has changed so much or not one tiny bit at all - then this movie will definitely bring back those bittersweet memories.

This review will also be incomplete without a cursory mention of the great score accompanying the movie. To be honest, the music is so ethereal it deserves more, much more than a cursory mention, and a great debt is owed to Grant Cutler for providing a breathtaking score to an equally breathtaking movie.

My Vote: 8 out of 10 The Goo

I watched this movie because I'm a huge fan of the song "Stuck Between Stations" by The Hold Steady, so full disclosure, I was a little disappointed by the fact that the song itself, nor any of the plot points from it never appear in the film.

Having that been said, I really enjoyed the characters and the dynamic between the actors. This movie was truly well acted, which is more than you can say for a lot of films, indie or otherwise.

As great as the performances were though, they couldn't make up for the fact that the story was just kind of bland. It's not that it was a bad story, it just wasn't enough to support a full length film. Maybe this is why the plot meandered into overdone independent film filler. I don't want to give away the scenes that I'm talking about, but trust me, you'll know them when you see them.

Still, I would see another movie by this director and writers. Especially since they have such good taste in music.