The Waiter

Several months ago an article caught my eye in the Chronicle, it was a showcase of Charles Durning and being a huge fan of Attica and Dog Day I read on. From this article an interest in a locally produced independent film spawned and I have followed that film for quite some time. I am a student of cinema and often I take great interest in the beginning works of directors. I was able to view the film and converse with the director and found it quite refreshing for the budget. He asked that I not repeat the budget, so I will honor that request. However, I will say that the accomplishment of producing this film is in relevant terms one of brilliance. Yes, the film has some faults, but I would have to give many of them a pass due to the limited funds. To those true cinephiles and beginning film directors I would highly recommend you view this film.

I am not one to watch a film several times, especially within the same night, but I had to watch it twice. Watching this film through very conservative eyes with a military and oil industry background gives me a fairly different perspective from most film festival viewers. But I agree with most of the previous comments in that it is a must see.

I personally know several people involved in the creation of this film. I have heard about it for quite a while, but never saw any footage or really understood the films premise until I saw it.

I was really impressed with the high quality of the filming as well as the acting for considering the budget. The film has many levels of thought, as well as a significant entertainment value.

The director/writer has created a strong foundation for future cuts and sequels. I am looking forward to seeing what can be done with more time and resources...as long as the production is able to maintain the depth and quality of this artistic film.

This film premiered at Palm Beach Film Festival, which I attended in Boca. I was attracted to this film as a fan of the work of Charles Durning. The film, however, was a far different film than I was use to and expected from him. The festival did a poor job of informing the attendees of what the film was about. The film was very violent and hard. Not at all my cup of tea, I was expecting a film paying homage to film noir from the way it was presented.

I can understand how this might please a much younger crowd, however I found it difficult to keep up with. I will say that the dialogue was clever, acting very strong, and the shot composition was really impressive.

Despite my mixed feelings about the 'raw' nature of the film I have to give it very high marks. The director spoke after the screening and explained the film and it honestly brought my feelings of it to a higher level. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to actually have to think about what I was seeing. It was a refreshing change of perspective, but it made me appreciate what I had dismissed before as mindless killings and vulgarity.

For the amount of money and experience that the director had the film looked very sharp and sent a powerful message.

Props for doing what you love to the writer, director and lead but to be perfectly honest, this effort totally stinks. Bad acting. Bad editing. Bad writing and a bad movie. I can't believe I'm still watching it after 45 minutes. There is no story and the lead is flat. Very flat. Even the camera work stinks. I wish I could find one redeeming quality but I can't. Waste of $1,000,000. Sigh. At least the rental was only .50 cents. Ok, here's one good thing to learn from this. How not to make a movie.

THE WAITER was a SOLID film with a great and recognizable cast that delivered amazing performances. Totally an underdog that surprised me. I was also impressed with this new writer/director JASON KONOPISOS, I've never heard of this dude but he sure as hell did an excellent job with making the film. Especially after I read about all of the obstacles they faced during the production of the film, I'm amazed with the result. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of this guy's work. Not only does this movie serves it's pure purpose with entertainment but it's interesting as well cause it makes you think. Which this kind of genre of film sometimes lacks, but not THE WAITER.