Lesson 1: “I’m your father” vs. “I love you”
Unless the movie is set in an alternative universe (a.k.a. Star Wars), a father-son/daughter story will always fall short of the potential that a love story has. Especially, when you consider how close Lawson and Pursy get. Pursy’s sex appeal dominates most of her scenes. She’s even caught half-naked staring at the mirror. Lawson is half-naked himself (he seemed naked but I give him the benefit of the doubt) in the Christmas Fireplace scene where he and Pursy lie together. We get the setup and the buildup but no payoff.
Back to Star Wars, I didn’t expect much from Han and Leia either but at least they didn’t promise me anything by lying naked in front of a fireplace. It’s good they get to say “I love you” even though the lines come in different episodes. (It doesn’t take a Star Wars fanatic to know when - let’s see if anybody can venture a guess. Please comment below.)
Lesson 2: (De) Fragmentation
The movie is not fluid although it’s apparent that much effort has gone during the editing to smooth it out. A good example is the English Essay scene where Pursy says she’s supposed to write an essay for her English class… cut. There’s no mention of the essay afterwards. In a house where two people have devoted their lives to literature (apparently, heavy drinking came later), this is a golden opportunity to escape the characterization clichés being thrown at us in the form of quotes from other, much more successful authors.
There’s one very plausible explanation that’s circulating around. Rumor has it that the production ran out of cash mid-way through the shoot. Extras left the set without getting paid. Locations and costumes were canceled. Apparently, some scenes were sacrificed in an effort to complete the movie with whatever additional financing they got.
The other explanation is that Shainee Gabel is a first time director. Some scenes/shots start in a way that is just begging for trouble. A great example is the Bobby Plays Chess with Lawson scene. The scene takes place by the river, a big cargo ships moves slowly into frame. What happens if an actor forgets his line? Do you radio the ship to move back into position for another take? Sure enough, come the next long shot, the ship is nowhere in sight. The editor did the right thing though - putting the sound of the ship in the background but it did bother me to hear a ship that disappeared without a trace in a matter of seconds.
Lesson 3: Excuse me, how much is this Bokeh?
This is tied to the issue of financing the movie which I mentioned earlier. If they were on a tight budget right from the start, why didn’t they reconsider their production plan? The cinematography is excellent: meticulously planned and with great attention to natural lighting. Looking at the bokeh in the Christmas Celebration scene made me cry – it probably took a bucketfull of Carl Zeiss glass! No wonder they ran out of money midway through the production. They should’ve scaled down the production and asked cinematographer Elliot Davis to get his Super 16 ARRI instead. After all, he shot “The Dukes of Hazzard” on Super 16 and it looks A-OK.
I have reviewed the movie separately as well - Review: A Love Song for Bobby Long.
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