There’s one thing about American
cinema which always made me hopeful and looking forward to and that is the spirit of
independent film-making. With low budget real life locations instead of glorious
larger than life production sets, common and lifelike characters instead of
pretentious stars with worn expressions, natural performances rather than over the top acting and fine poise
and patience of story telling than technical superficialities…there’re so much that directly connects the audience without any extra effort. Here’s once again
a decent independent film which brought all these things together and trying to
kindle the spirit of humanity.
When the director, actors and
crew of the film don’t deliberately try to impress the audience and maintains
the ease and simplicity of story telling, the film automatically connects to
its audience. Director Thomas McCarthy made a decent debut attempt with ‘The
Station Agent’ and he again achieved and matures that feat with this film. Walter
is a lonely, reserved widower college professor of Connecticut . He visits New York to read a paper in conference and came
to know that an immigrant couple is living in his own flat. He shares couple of
days with the couple and forms a human connection and change that he’s missing
from time being. Incidentally the immigrant man nabbed by FBI by mistake and
arrested in detention centre. As the conference is over, the professor has to
move back to his college soon but the unlikely situations with these strangers
forms an emotional bonding that pulling him to stay in New York .
We have seen Richard Jenkins as
fine supporting actor but rarely see a film where he carried the film on his
own with the performance that makes him remember for long. This film is
breaking of that jinx for him. But what’s more satisfying than Jenkins are the
natural and lifelike performances by all those unknown faces of non American
actors that makes it so realistic than staged drama. The playing of drum is
symbolic force of life’s rhythm here…it should play on with a flow of spontaneity
and without thinking much about preconceived notions.
Recommended one for everyone.
Ratings-7.5/10
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