Review by Quin
I spent almost the first third of this movie trying to figure out why the lead actress looked so familiar. This probably says something about my reading comprehension or my attention to detail, because in the blurb about the film, it clearly says that Nicole Fox was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model, the American Idol of modelling shows hosted by Tyra Banks. Now before you say, why are you watching that show, Quin? I have to say it just so happens, the one season of the program I watched all the way through happened to be Nicole’s season, lucky Cycle number 13. Not only was she a contestant, but she won. So here we have it, folks. If you win one of those reality T.V. shows, this is the kind of thing you can look forward to doing, unless you are Susan Boyle. Oh right, she didn’t win. Then again, maybe she did, depending on your point of view.
Nicole Fox plays Vienna, “Named after the city known for its Art Deco”. We get to see some of her vlogs (that’s video blogs, in case you aren’t hip to internet slang) where she tells about her troubled past as well as her dreams and aspirations. It’s probably not unlike the typical audition tape for America’s Next Top Model. Vienna wants to be a model and she wants to document her rise to stardom. She lives with her boyfriend Zack. Zack is a jerk who is clearly taking advantage of her, but Vienna doesn’t seem to notice. Vienna starts modelling regularly for amateur photographer Allan. Now when I say amateur, I mean ‘point and shoot digital camera with natural lighting’ amateur. He pays her, but he’s pretty creepy. Again, she doesn’t seem to notice, because clearly he is the gatekeeper to stardom. Allan is played by Clifford Morts. He looks quite a bit like Kyle Gass of the band Tenacious D and he has a speaking voice similar to the late Jack Nance of Eraserhead and Twin Peaks, but his overall demeanor and actions remind me of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character in Happiness, who by the way, was also named Allen.
Redlands is John Brian King’s directorial debut. He previously worked as a title designer on everything from Boogie Nights to Lilo & Stitch. He’s certainly come a long way since his work with Disney. This even surpasses his work with Paul Thomas Anderson on the scale of pitch dark pseudo satirical realism. He’s effectively used a method that cinematic greats like Yasujiro Ozu and Jim Jarmusch have had great success with making it an integral part of their visual style; that is placing the camera in one spot and not moving it at all, creating a string of scenes done in one continuous take. Technically, this may not be as impressive as Scorsese’s long shot in the restaurant in Goodfellas. When the camera is still, lighting becomes much less of an issue. But this still makes it challenging for the actors. As long as they know their lines or are good at improv, this gives the scene a more realistic flow with the conversations. The acting in Redlands is good for the most part. There are a few awkward moments, but overall I was impressed with the cast’s ability to stay in character throughout these scenes.
I guess the best way to classify this film is as a cautionary tale – not that fame has a price, but wanting fame has a price. The press release states that it follows in the footsteps of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. While I don’t doubt that John Brian King is an admirer of these two greats, he’s certainly no Pasolini or Fassbinder; I’d put him closer to the likes of Todd Solondz. Without question he’s a talented filmmaker with a great eye for composition. His conversational dialogue is effective, and he captures realistic portrayals from all of the actors with only a few moments where it feels forced. Overall I was engrossed to the point where I couldn’t look away from the screen. Apart from the chilling conclusion, most of the film’s brutality is what you see between the lines. The build-up is so slow and so careful, you get to the point where it seems like everything may actually turn out alright. Just a word of warning: don’t expect to feel good after watching this. Even so, I’m glad I did.
Redlands will be available on Video On Demand and Amazon Instant Video beginning January 10, 2014.