The Happiest Place on Earth

John Goshorn's feature film debut as a director manages to do something that even the most established directors shoot for, it puts a human (and tragic) face on the country's recent economic downturn. In less capable hands this morality tale might be too preachy, or overwrought, but we never find ourselves scolded by the film. Maggie and Jonah want take part in the American dream. They want to own a house. And so they buy a house, but for them, like for so many others that house becomes a noose around their necks when Jonah looses his job at the newspaper. Seeing no other options Jonah makes the ultimate sacrifice to help provide for Maggie. Jennifer Faith Ward and Tom Kemnitz Jr as Maggie and Jonah respectively are incredibly engaging and breathe life into their characters in way that reminds us of early Cassavetes. In fact, that filmmaker is the one that seems to have been this production's patron saint. Goshorn seems completely willing to enclose us in the claustrophobia of realism no matter how uncomfortable or horrific it may be for Maggie and Jonah, or for us.

I thought that this film was more a drama than a thriller. A woman and her husband fall on hard times when he loses his job. When he goes missing on a camping trip, both his wife and the audience have to decide if he's really dead or possibly trying to scam the insurance company.

I watch a lot of low-budget films on Amazon and Hulu, and this was one of the better ones I've seen . The acting is good, and even if I sometimes knew where the plot was going there were still a few surprises in there. The direction is solid and makes good use of the natural lighting and sets that they worked with.

The only thing that bothered me was that it didn't seem like either the husband or the wife was really willing to hustle to pay their bills--like, walk some dogs or bus some tables. But then again, I guess some people can't get their heads around the idea of working a "lesser" job.

In any event, I watched this one for free on Amazon Prime and I think it's worth checking out. It's a pretty brisk 80 minutes, and you'll know about 15 minutes in whether or not you're invested in the story.

Although a fictional story, an incredibly relevant and sobering reminder that the 'American Dream' for most people is a farce, and that most of us in the middle class are just one round of bad luck away from potentially losing everything.

That could include a job loss - as is the case in the movie, a death of a provider, or a catastrophic illness. In the film, the protagonists find this out the hard way when the husband loses his job and is unable to find other employment. The wife is unable to keep up on the mortgage of their new house on her salary. The couple enter a financial, psychological, and marital downward spiral that ultimately has tragic consequences.

Happens all the time, and the powers that shouldn't be don't want to talk about it. Almost criminal that this happens in the wealthiest country on earth.

The acting and directing of this film were exceptional. Having heard from the director that only natural lighting and fixtures were used, that makes the film all the more impressive.

There were a couple of lines that seemed misplaced and it seemed to drag a bit in some places, but that's nothing one more edit couldn't amend.

All in all, a touching story, heartfelt acting, great directing and cinematography. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. I would recommend for anyone interested in film or just the human condition to watch this.

The director uses ambient light and realistic locations to give this film a documentary feel that gives the audience a sense that this could be a true story. He elicited passionate performances from every actor. Even characters with one or no lines make you believe in the reality of their world. This is a compelling story with a memorable twist at the end.