Revolution #9

I really really liked this movie which I saaw at the Nantucket Film Festival. I especially liked the scenes with the hilarious Spalding Gray and Adrienne Shelley (one of my faves of all time!). The director seems to know a lot about mental illness and he unravels the plot like a good Hitchcock suspense film, and it's also beuatifully shot. Highly recommended viewing if you like films that are dark, funny, and a little brutal. (I do!)

Apart from a denouement that will leave many angry (i.e those who need everything spelt out for them) this acute and heady psychological drama is well worth checking out.

A goofy 20something (Adrienne Shelley) brings home her handsome catch to meet her folks before announcing their engagement. Look for this in the great opening scene; the discussion the boyfriend is having with his girlfiends young brother over the computer as it's a beautiful piece of foreshadowing.

The gist of the premise is simply this; new boyfriend seems everything a gal could want, until he starts showing signs of beligerance and paranoia. Most of this is aimed at a wishy-washy commercial for a new perfume - he thinks there's something sinister in the subliminals. When he starts looking to others for sympathy to his plight in bringing this secret order to world attention, he ends up with social-egg on his face.

Things progress downhill as we watch his mind unfold. Without the usual theatrics associated with this disease-of-the-week formula, this film packs a wallop and one is sucked into the maelstrom that is his altered state of consciousness. A brave indie that doesn't sell itself out for \the-please-love-me school of sundance wannabe commercialism.

Realistic portrayal of a man's descent into mental illness coupled with sharp media satire. Speaks volumes about our society's over saturation of commercialism and suggestive imagery. Amazing performances flesh out a dark, edgy story that definitely deserves recognition.

Revolution #9 is not a thriller, it's a gritty, affecting drama that tackles the subject of mental illness head on. Nothing is glamorized here. This is a down and dirty, sometimes blackly comic film that displays genuine talent on the part of writer/director/cinematographer Tim McCann and his extremely strong cast. Disturbing and powerful, it's a film Hollywood would never make - one of the best recent examples of why a vibrant independent film scene is so important.

Surely this is what low-budget, independent filmmaking in terms of fulfilling its potential is all about. The unique qualities that differentiate film from other dramatic media like stage plays, audio-tapes, live television, etc. are evident in this film in great abundance. I was not at all put off by recurrent multiple visions, time-lapse episodes, color variations, and other visual effects that have annoyed one or two other viewers commenting here. What is truly amazing about the film is how it takes an ensemble of little-known actors and commonplace settings and creates something powerfully dramatic without losing the verité effect of a politically and socially relevant documentary.

As others have said about the subject matter (some seem very familiar with it in clinical terms), it grabs you by the throat and won't let go even after it comes to a rather abrupt end. I, too, have known people with similar mental illnesses, and have found myself in real life playing many of the roles pictured here -- though to varying degrees and with different outcomes. A sensitive viewer may even find himself or herself identifying strongly with one or another of the characters, which is always a measure of great acting and great storytelling. This film ought to be watched from beginning to end in a dark room with no one else present to offer comments, preferably late at night when one is left at the conclusion with no option except to relive the experiences for an hour or so in complete solitude.

This is a movie that comes with no laugh track. 10 of 10.