Addison's Wall

Saw this at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland, OR - and very impressed! Shot on B/W 35mm in the Portland area, this is a film that successfully blends simplicity and wonder - and really deserves repeated viewings.

One of my favorite short features - for its story about a son and mother dealing with grief - each in their own way.

Great direction, beautiful B/W cinematography, remarkable performances and a compelling story.

Has an almost Hichcockian flavor that delivers a satisfyingly dark twist to the finale.

Definitely a must-see...

This was the most god awful movie I have had to sit through. 30 minutes into the film and I couldn't take any more. Seriously, do not bother with this one unless you are a sentimental nut job or one of those pseudo-arty types that like this kind of tripe so that they may feel more cultured. Boring, although the acting is fine; the kid is just plain irritating. Some scenes are a little strange with very weird close-ups. I don't know why they did the whole movie in black and white, but whatever effect they were hoping to have failed miserably. There was just nothing to watch, and although its a sad tale, supposedly, its just so stupid that its hard to feel any sympathy for the characters.

I have to admit that i was a bit surprised and astonished by this movie. It is somewhat reminiscent of The Sixth Sense for the main character is a young boy with certain powers that reach beyond the human reason. I also like the way it is directed because I'm a sucker for black and white movies especially if they are that way on purpose. The movie deals with traumas and different ways of coping with these traumas that life can create. It's wonderful and spooky at the same time. I was also surprised by the acting of the young Colton Lasater, this being his 1st movie (or so it is stated as his 1st here on IMDb). It's a definite must see.

I was not bored for a second during this film, and I'm not sure why others keep feeling this way. I thought it moved at a very quick pace, was tightly shot, scripted, and edited, and maintained a nice level of subtlety and mystery without being gruesomely graphic.

This film is not flashy; there are no explosions, no computer-rendered phantasma, no elaborate high-budget sets. It relies on the stark black-and-white imagery and characters to set mood and move the plot. This is the kind of movie I love: one that doesn't rely on cheap tricks, but on simple, elegant, old-fashioned artistry in film-making to produce a compelling flick.

Why aren't there more pieces like this out there?

Unfortunately, i made the mistake of checking to see the rating of this movie, here at IMDb, back when there were less than 10 members who had rated it. The overall rating was an 8, so i decided to check the movie out. After watching the movie, i can't believe it still has an overall rating above a 3! It's basically about a mother and her son(Addison), who move to a new town after the father commits suicide in their previous home, which is all explained to the principal by the mother when enrolling Addison in his new school. Addison hasn't said a word since his father killed himself, and the mother seems to think it's just his way of "working through" the tragedy. And although she is basically having a mental breakdown over the silence of her son, she doesn't want to pressure him to speak, nor does she want anyone else to pressure him to speak. This is where the story ends for me, which is 3/4 through the movie. I mean, Addison starts writing random stuff on his bedroom wall at night. There really isn't even to many scenes dedicated to his wall scribblings, and it's never quite clear what any of them say or mean. The movie just crawls along at a snails pace. The entire script couldn't have been any longer than 15 pages, even if double spaced! To sum it up, i would compare this movie to an incomplete sentence. It just leaves too...