Marian [Carrie Preston] is a writer struggling to write her book. Her book is about Humkin [Michael Chernus] and Mopekey [Dallas Roberts] who live in the middle of nowhere in a boat. After Marian hits a creative wall with where to take the novel she approaches her former teacher, Jackson [Austin Pendleton], for help and then the story and Marian begins to head off the deep end.
I think it is only fair to share with you how amazing this movie is. The film takes an idea that we saw played with in Stranger than Fiction, a writer’s character becomes self aware and then their worlds come together, and runs with it even further than you thought comfortable. I loved Stranger than Fiction for what it did with the idea of a character being controlled by its narrator, or writer, and then realising that there is the person having control over it and being able to say “NO”. This was handled slightly different in this movie as Humkin’s rebellion was really not defiance from the writer but rather the writer defying her own instincts so as to create a fantastical tale for her readers to enjoy.
The question you should ask yourself is when you sit down to write a story and you have this whole idea for what a story is going to be, does that story always end up on the pages as you actually type it up? Do the characters evolve into something completely different? Does the writer, like the reader, get invested in their characters and stop trying to force them into scenarios but rather let them dictate what will happen in the story? And is that the key to a good story?
These are all the questions I found coming up as I finished watching this movie. Because the movie can easily be summed up into a film where a writer allows herself to be submerged into this world where these two characters, Humkin and Mopekey, are and what would happen if they were to break away from their set path that has been set for them. It begins as her saying that she “tried to kill him” and he didn’t want to be killed so he escapes and it becomes this tale of how he interacts with the world.
The writing for this movie is astounding. The film is written and directed by Kirt Gunn. This is his first feature as the director and a writer, which shocks me. There have not been many talents out there that catch my attention like this on their first attempt, and his IMDb page is almost devoid of any credits so you would assume this is where he makes all the mistakes he needs to make to get it right the next time. Mr. Gunn please keeps doing what you’re doing because you’re doing great. I loved how the story progresses and the story of Mimi [Lena Lamer] and Bob [Reg Rogers] are great. I never mentioned that side of the story because I really don’t want to give the whole movie away.
One aspect of this film that I enjoyed throughout the movie had to be the soundtrack. It varied from jazz to indie pop and you can tell the strength of the music when the film ends with a song by Tom Waits and I prefer the rest of it to that song. I felt that the soundtrack complimented the film perfectly and never distracted you away from the story or the beautiful cinematography that we were treated to throughout the runtime of the film. I am not sure if the soundtrack will ever be made available for purchase, either via CD or digital download, but I’d be very interested in it if ever becomes available.
Overall this is a must watch for fans of independent films and especially those who love a film that doesn’t try to limit its characters in any way. The only thing that the characters in the movie don’t do is break the fourth wall and I probably wouldn’t have complained about if they did. Here is a solid movie and make sure you pick up your copy when it is released on DVD on July 7th.
IMDB says 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes says NA
I say 9.0/10