What do I neglect to remember every June? It’s the time for the Solstice Film Festival! I had the serious misfortune to attend the opening film of Solstice fest a couple years ago (when I believe it was in its second year) with the premiere of Believers (2007), from one of the directors of The Blair Witch Project (1999). Words cannot describe the awful travesty of that film, exacerbated by the extremely annoying presence of lead actor Johnny Messner at the premiere, (and it was not a remake of the boring hoodoo horror The Believers, that 1987 film starring Martin Sheen) so, needless to say, I’ve avoided the Solstice. Until now.
Solstice seems infatuated with making the notion of a film festival young, hip, cutting edge and inebriated in order, it seems, to appeal to drawing in the dude/prep/sports jockey community. Though I’d prefer to assume they’re all perfectly nice, non threatening dudes, inside this year’s Solstice Venue the air was pregnant with heterosexual agendas, as Solstice Dude-Founder, Devin Halden introduced several members of the Board of Directors, including Peter Duggan, who does something or other for the Minnesota Vikings. I don’t quite recall what exactly he does, as my hackles were up at the word “Vikings,” and like a Pavlovian dog, I growled under my breath at audience cheers. Anyhow, football dude was charged with introducing the film and I sure hope he misquoted the director, describing the film in the director’s words as a “darkly comedy thriller.” Really. Never seen one of those before. The opening film that intrigued me enough to venture out to the Suburban World Theater in Uptown, Minneapolis was the debut feature from director Jake Goldberger, a sort of neo-noir (and the term, my darlings, is “black” comedy) titled, Don McKay. Director Goldberg wisely did not attend the screening, citing his promotional duties in another city (yes, New York City) as the reason. Don’t worry folks. We were informed that if the Solstice festival were ever to play another movie he was ever to make, he would love, just love to be here. Finally, before the film began, we were forced to witness (errr, enjoy) two jugglers as they juggled flaming orbs, because nothing gets me more in the mood for a film than flaming orbs, especially ones that might sneakily fly into an eager audience member (or personnel’s) face. I’m not sure if we were to connect the flaming orbs with the sun and the solstice, or if it was the usual thrill for humans to watch uneducated people skilled in freakshow antics on the off chance that something might somehow end badly.
Regardless, the film began and I quite enjoyed the darkly comic debut feature from Goldberger, even if what it needs most is a title change, for as it stands, it could very well be mistaken for an old Joan Crawford melodrama (Sadie McKee; Harriet Craig; Mildred Pierce; Daisy Kenyon; Letty Lynton---bitch was always the titular heroine). Though the film often looks like it was filmed for a television series (“American Gothic” came to mind several times) the expert script, and supremely excellent acting from the femme fatales Elisabeth Shue and Melissa Leo make this a must see for lovers of neo-noir and sociopathic women. Thomas Hayden Church (“Wings”; Sideways - 2004) stars as Don McKay, a high school janitor who receives an urgent letter from his hometown sweetheart, whom he had last seen 25 years prior. Returning to his hometown, he finds Sonny (Elisabeth Shue) is dying and being looked after by a severe, no-nonsense nurse Marie (Melissa Leo). But all is not right, and come to find, Sonny’s physician, (character actor James Rebhorn) is in love with Sonny and extremely jealous, resulting in a fatal altercation that sets the plot into spirals. With a film sporting more than it’s fair share of twists and pathological liars, Don McKay is an excellent example of why we need more Elisabeth Shue and Melissa Leo, both looking as radiant as ever. Thomas Hayden Church (who also produced the film) ends up being a likeable character, though I was unsure of him at first, while he seemingly wandered through some of his early dialogue and looking like Debra Winger playing that handicapped character in A Dangerous Woman (1993). Some excellent supporting presence also to Keith David, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and M. Emmet Walsh.
The Solstice peeps should indeed feel lucky to have acquired this as their opening film, as looking ahead at their schedule, besides a handful of interesting short films, there’s not a lot to get excited about. But hell, if there’s a full bar at each screening, down the hatch, then.
Solstice seems infatuated with making the notion of a film festival young, hip, cutting edge and inebriated in order, it seems, to appeal to drawing in the dude/prep/sports jockey community. Though I’d prefer to assume they’re all perfectly nice, non threatening dudes, inside this year’s Solstice Venue the air was pregnant with heterosexual agendas, as Solstice Dude-Founder, Devin Halden introduced several members of the Board of Directors, including Peter Duggan, who does something or other for the Minnesota Vikings. I don’t quite recall what exactly he does, as my hackles were up at the word “Vikings,” and like a Pavlovian dog, I growled under my breath at audience cheers. Anyhow, football dude was charged with introducing the film and I sure hope he misquoted the director, describing the film in the director’s words as a “darkly comedy thriller.” Really. Never seen one of those before. The opening film that intrigued me enough to venture out to the Suburban World Theater in Uptown, Minneapolis was the debut feature from director Jake Goldberger, a sort of neo-noir (and the term, my darlings, is “black” comedy) titled, Don McKay. Director Goldberg wisely did not attend the screening, citing his promotional duties in another city (yes, New York City) as the reason. Don’t worry folks. We were informed that if the Solstice festival were ever to play another movie he was ever to make, he would love, just love to be here. Finally, before the film began, we were forced to witness (errr, enjoy) two jugglers as they juggled flaming orbs, because nothing gets me more in the mood for a film than flaming orbs, especially ones that might sneakily fly into an eager audience member (or personnel’s) face. I’m not sure if we were to connect the flaming orbs with the sun and the solstice, or if it was the usual thrill for humans to watch uneducated people skilled in freakshow antics on the off chance that something might somehow end badly.
Regardless, the film began and I quite enjoyed the darkly comic debut feature from Goldberger, even if what it needs most is a title change, for as it stands, it could very well be mistaken for an old Joan Crawford melodrama (Sadie McKee; Harriet Craig; Mildred Pierce; Daisy Kenyon; Letty Lynton---bitch was always the titular heroine). Though the film often looks like it was filmed for a television series (“American Gothic” came to mind several times) the expert script, and supremely excellent acting from the femme fatales Elisabeth Shue and Melissa Leo make this a must see for lovers of neo-noir and sociopathic women. Thomas Hayden Church (“Wings”; Sideways - 2004) stars as Don McKay, a high school janitor who receives an urgent letter from his hometown sweetheart, whom he had last seen 25 years prior. Returning to his hometown, he finds Sonny (Elisabeth Shue) is dying and being looked after by a severe, no-nonsense nurse Marie (Melissa Leo). But all is not right, and come to find, Sonny’s physician, (character actor James Rebhorn) is in love with Sonny and extremely jealous, resulting in a fatal altercation that sets the plot into spirals. With a film sporting more than it’s fair share of twists and pathological liars, Don McKay is an excellent example of why we need more Elisabeth Shue and Melissa Leo, both looking as radiant as ever. Thomas Hayden Church (who also produced the film) ends up being a likeable character, though I was unsure of him at first, while he seemingly wandered through some of his early dialogue and looking like Debra Winger playing that handicapped character in A Dangerous Woman (1993). Some excellent supporting presence also to Keith David, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and M. Emmet Walsh.
The Solstice peeps should indeed feel lucky to have acquired this as their opening film, as looking ahead at their schedule, besides a handful of interesting short films, there’s not a lot to get excited about. But hell, if there’s a full bar at each screening, down the hatch, then.
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