New Jerusalem

Basically a rehash of the same theme--- the world of a depressed individual--- that was explored in THE BUILDER, a film Alverson produced a year earlier. Only this time everything is transferred to a used tire shop. Lots of day to day minutiae, images which offer little of any substance with which the viewer can begin to understand what is transpiring in the protagonist's mind or what, if any, message the film is intended to convey.

Practically a one-man show. Rick Alverson did almost everything in his film "New Jerusalem" except sweep out the set, (though maybe he did that, too). It is, then, as 'indie' as it gets, down to the non-performances of his non-acting cast. It's a kind of bromance between two guys who work together in a used tyre depot and who are as different as night from day. They are played by musician Will Oldham and the little known Irish actor and writer Colm O'Leary and it has a lovely improvisatorary feel to it. It's also singularly lacking in structure or a real centre while being observational to the point of being almost a documentary with Alverson, who also photographed and edited the film, getting in as close to his characters as his camera will let him, illuminating their joys and sorrows in a way no studio-bound, audience friendly film possibly could. It's also one of the few films to examine male friendship with this degree of depth and lack of sentimentality and in its own quiet way it is also one of the best films I can remember to touch on the subject of religion. Outstanding.