Hairy Lime
Well-known member
Low budget indie flick by a first-time female writer-director (Julia Loktev) in which we follow the last two days of a would-be suicide bomber determined to blow herself up in Manhattan's Times Square.
I'm always squeamish about movies exploring Terrorism and 9/11 but a friend convinced me to see this despite my reticence. It has done very well on the festival circuit - won prizes at Cannes and Chicago and is nominated for Best First Feature for the Independent Spirit Awards.
In short, I was blown away. The mood, the texture, the tone, the pacing. Everything about this film worked in a way that I would not have expected. There is no music and sound itself becomes a character in the story. The director started out as an audio tech on films and hired a top notch sound designer to make sure she got the audio perfect - and she did.
The film is essentially split into two parts - the preparation in a nondescript hotel room and then the mission filmed on location in Times Square. The first half is quiet and contemplative with a very slowly building sense of dread. The second half is loud and frenetic and colorful and the anxiety builds and builds to a crescendo. I was emotionally exhausted by the end.
The actress, Luisa Williams, was a nanny with no acting training or experience who found the flyer for the open casting call when visiting Coney Island with her charge. The casting session had passed, but she emailed about it anyway. The director was at the end of her rope, having seen 650 would be leads and not finding anyone she wanted to cast. Then this email came through and it was a perfect match. The actress has now been cast in an Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu short film so her nonprofessional status is about to change in a big way. And she deserves it. She was remarkable, no doubt thanks to some fine direction.
I'm always squeamish about movies exploring Terrorism and 9/11 but a friend convinced me to see this despite my reticence. It has done very well on the festival circuit - won prizes at Cannes and Chicago and is nominated for Best First Feature for the Independent Spirit Awards.
In short, I was blown away. The mood, the texture, the tone, the pacing. Everything about this film worked in a way that I would not have expected. There is no music and sound itself becomes a character in the story. The director started out as an audio tech on films and hired a top notch sound designer to make sure she got the audio perfect - and she did.
The film is essentially split into two parts - the preparation in a nondescript hotel room and then the mission filmed on location in Times Square. The first half is quiet and contemplative with a very slowly building sense of dread. The second half is loud and frenetic and colorful and the anxiety builds and builds to a crescendo. I was emotionally exhausted by the end.
The actress, Luisa Williams, was a nanny with no acting training or experience who found the flyer for the open casting call when visiting Coney Island with her charge. The casting session had passed, but she emailed about it anyway. The director was at the end of her rope, having seen 650 would be leads and not finding anyone she wanted to cast. Then this email came through and it was a perfect match. The actress has now been cast in an Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu short film so her nonprofessional status is about to change in a big way. And she deserves it. She was remarkable, no doubt thanks to some fine direction.
