Life and Nothing More

What we saw in this film is about a young black teenager struggled to deal with the daily nothingness and hopelessness without any possible way to get out of it. His lacking of a father figure to guide or pull him through the growing pain stage is just a wishful thinking. His mother, a rustic, loud-mouth, sexual thirsty low level woman with big hips is a very typical woman and mother who got nothing, no man in her life to support her and her family. The boy got a very little sister still needs day care, it only means the man of the house just took off before the little girl was born. There's really nothing to tell about the whole film about anything, just a dreary hopeless life and low living standard of an average scene of nowadays America, not just specifically what the black people or their families got to deal with, most of the whites also like the blacks facing the same and inescapable situations day by day. They are not even what we called "Middle Income Families", I'm very curious about how these people pay their utilities bills, property taxes. Of course, based upon what we saw in this film, they obviously don't have to pay any income tax since they are definitely low income people. The whole film is very depressed to watch. We don't smell any MONEY in it. Guess if we could see some beautiful and rich black people and what the could afford like we see daily in the TV commercials, these God-awful situations about this boy and his family won't even exist. It's the poverty that has affected almost anything in Life & Nothing More. You don't need to make a film so repeatedly reiterating it. Although money couldn't buy anything, but at least let's have some first.

Life and Nothing More was an immaculate production with realistic and captivating cinematography. Director Antonio Mendez Esparza does a wonderful job is painting a not so pretty picture of a North Florida family and the struggles they face every day. The story line consists of a single mother Regina who works long, difficult hours at a local restaurant to provide for her two children. Regina isn't always home and begins to find her teenage son Andrew getting into minor troubles with the law. To keep Andrew on the right path Regina uses her tough love and hopes he will learn from his mistakes. The character's imperfections and raw dialogue made for extremely realistic interactions and chemistries that helped successfully execute this powerful story. Life and Nothing More is a moving drama that I highly recommend seeing for yourself!

While Antonio Mendez Esparza's most ambitious feature may be a cinematic masterpiece, it could easily pass as a work of live theater. The majority of directors use an abundance of close-ups to force audiences to see their vision; Esparza, on the other hand, often fills the screen with as much of the scene's surroundings as possible. This fly-on-the-wall technique in turn liberates viewers to choose what they want to see on-screen based on their personal intrigue. Carefully crafted performances by both the focal and ensemble cast also allows viewers to interpret the conflicts of each scene, as opposed to the employment of dialogue to reveal this information. Newcomers Andrew Bleechington and Regina Williams are both brilliantly nuanced in their facial expressions and intonations, making their internal struggles implicit. As for the film's extras, Esparza seemingly put his actors in the middle of some chaotic scene and starts rolling. Life and Nothing More could very well be a game-changer for the way that we watch films, paving the way for a much more free-flowing viewing experience. I highly advise cinephiles to be at the forefront of this movement by watching this movie through that lens.

"Life and Nothing More" is one of the most authentic and raw films I have ever watched. You feel as if you are watching a real-life event happen right in front of you. The set design and lighting of the film created a mood that fit very well within the story line. It expressed a low-income, struggling family. In addition, the acting in this film was remarkable. Andrew Bleechington couldn't have played the role better. His face throughout the movie showed lots of emotion and dramatic feelings. Regina Williams's acting represented the hardship of being a single-parent. She played the role so organically; it felt so real. Overall, excellent, original, and emotional film.

I've seen this movie twice and got more out of it the second time around. Although some people might shy away from the topic, there is more to meet the eye, literally, than just the obvious. There are excellent performances by a number of talented actors but the story line and arc of the heroes is what gives the effort dynamic life. Anyone who has ever been a teenager knows that things could have gone off the rails a number of times. This circular, rising tension gives the plot life. There is "Life, and Nothing More" as a model for a window into a world you might not be that familiar with. This movie was several years ahead of the issue of "spacial profiling". There is a lot to be proud of in giving witness to a depiction of the human struggle. Many of the members of the audience were stunned by how honest this movie was. There were SEVERAL audience reactions of shock and understanding which validated the craft of its creation. I know a number of them talked about for days afterwards. How many movies does that happen with, nowadays? If it is playing in your area go see it, you won't regret it. This is an HONEST, dedicated, small film American effort; we'll be hearing more from the Director, I'm sure!