The Historian

A great film about a young history teacher who tries to move on from his past by taking a new job at a university. A university job sounds easy right? Think again, this is one of those films you have to watch to really understand how the academia world works. A very accurate portrayal played out perfectly thanks to screen veteran William Sadler.

This movie is not about feeling sorry for the protagonists. It is about the conflicting desires, values, opportunities that make our lives an unholy mess from time to time. The place and time chosen make for believable interactions berween very different people living through very different, if intermingled, crises. This is not about good or bad people or about winners and losers. It is about being human, the predicaments thereof, the tasks, the sorrows and the loves. I welcomed it . Oh, there is a gunshot : paintball, color green...

Everything about this movie is cheap and bad! The plot is bad, the acting is bad (especially by Miles Doleac the writer/director and main actor), the production is cheap and the supporting actors are bad. And that actor Colin Cunningham just looked and acted too much like Pauly Shore in this movie. (And I like Pauly Shore movies)

Sometimes a movie can be cheap but not bad. And sometimes a movie can be bad and far from cheap. But here in 'The Historian' you have both. I sat through all two hours of this disaster thinking it might just give some laughs because it kept sinking into a melodramatic soap opera bog of bad. Well that didn't happen!

And then in true Bible belt fashion (this movie was made in Mississippi) a sermonet on Jesus is thrown in for what reason I don't know. Something about living your principles I think. And my opinion on that scene can be found in Nina Simone's famous song about Mississippi.

Debut films are often hit or misses. Many bomb in quality and lack in depth. But some, often very few, exceed all expectations and rise above the status quo. The Historian accomplishes this feat on the back of Miles Doleac and leaves no room for doubt with this up-and-coming filmmaker and actor.

The Historian is a film that examines several different plot points, from love to accomplishment and further to jealousy and determination, only to name a few. There are powerhouse performances here and directorial beauty. Though the film may not be Nolan-esque quality, it proves that the highest budget isn't needed to create an entertaining and enthralling work.

Miles Doleac stuns with his acting, directing and writing for this film. He is a man who beats all odds and proves himself to be the product of his own determination and passion. I predict he is someone who we will be seeing a lot of in the near future.

John Cullum and William Sadler both give amazing performances in this film and are perhaps the highlights of the acting field in this piece. They both astound with their humanity and flaws that are captured beautifully by an unforgiving and honest script.

Beyond the more technical aspects, The Historian offers an in depth look at the higher educational system and often the corruption it presents. Doleac attacks the fact that students aren't pushed and are allowed to slack off and succeed, thus setting them up for future failure.

This is one of many examples of the plethora of angles that The Historian focuses on. There is no shortness of plot elements and the characters beyond anything else feel alive. It is a film that anyone can watch and enjoy. Its run at film festivals and awards won at said events were earned in a deserving manner. Passion is in every scene and it is always apparent that this film was made by someone who loves the art of film making.

I recommend The Historian to anyone who enjoys good drama and likes a taste of something new they haven't seen before. Every aspect of this film is great and it is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable movies of the year.

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Though I've never written a review, I felt I had to in this case. I read the other reviews (and agree with most of them), but admittedly, I am confused by the one guy who wrote a bad review. Clearly, not everyone has to have the same tastes, but I found his review to be rather obtuse, as if he had a personal grudge against the director and actors of the film - or perhaps he was confused by the subject matter in the film (as not all of it is placed on the lower shelf for those who can't understand subtext or follow along complex story lines).

As for the film, and providing a review, not just as a rebuttal towards *istum puerum*, the movie is a good one. If you have any love for the classics, you'll like it. If you follow certain actors, you'll like it. If you like movies set in academia (that kind of pull the curtain back on what's happening in that world today), you'll like it. If you like clever (but not always sunshine-inducing) dialogue, you'll like it.