Too Late

This movie is shown as five episodes out of sequence, with a stunning twist at the end. Its style is an homage to the old fashioned crime noir genre, and while tiresome in spots, is well done overall. The characters and action seen at the beginning can give the impression that this is a marginal, unimportant piece, but it is really a work of art that must be seen from beginning to end.

If anything, this shows that a well-directed, well-scripted movie can even use low-life characters who are grade-school dropouts, who go through life pretending their inconsequential lives have meaning and importance, to produce a good film. The script elevates the usual stereotypes and trite conversation above the morass of every-day life, although some moments admittedly last too long.

Unless you see the film from beginning to end, even through the long annoying parts, you will not be able to fully appreciate how beautifully crafted this movie really is.

Once of best films in recent years. Sensitive. Great acting of John Hawkes.

I really like Film Noir and "Too Late" tries to be one but falls short. I appreciate indie films because they avoid the usual Hollywood mainstream stuff and I cut them a lot of slack, but this picture doesn't help you out. It is disjointed and not well written but I think director Dennis Hauck is on to something.

This effort, however, tends to lose the viewer with time frame juxtaposition which is too clever by half. I had to work at it to sort out the sequence of events and I think I nearly caught up by the end of the picture. Add to this the scenario which often lapses into the surreal and some overwritten dialogue (Dashiel Hammett is safe), and the cake falls.

John Hawkes was good as the detective but has an emaciated look. He is a stretch to be a hard-boiled 'noir' hero, which is a minor objection, but I hope Hauck perseveres and refines his ideas. There is a need to counteract the current trend toward the populist dreck that shows up in the multiplexes nowadays.

I freely admit to having watched this film primarily because of Dichen Lachmann and Natalie Zea (who I'll see in anything), but it had a great deal more to offer than I was expecting.

Yes, Hauck steals freely from Quentin Tarantino when it comes to mixed-up timelines, and steals even more from the genre of L.A. Noir, but it has its own charms. It also has some really ballsy experiments, such as shooting each of the five acts in one single take (on 35mm film, which must have been a real bitch to pull off given the changing lighting conditions).

Good performances from a wide range of actors clearly pitching in and having a good time with a small Indie film in between better-paying gigs. Plus, there are some genuinely touching moments, the kind that make you (or at least made me) go back and re-watch a couple of early scenes at the end to see them at the end, after the context of them has been to some extent explained.

I like that the song "Down With Mary" has been short-listed for the Original Song Oscar this year. That shows that this film got more attention than might be expected for a supposed low-budget Indie flick. I look forward to Hauck's next effort.

This is the L. A. I remember. This is also Raymond Chandler updated for the 21st Century. This is salvation for the stripper, and powerful women, and good-hearted people in a world full of sin. Don't miss this one if you like crime and/or Neo-Noir.