joelien-reece

This is a fairly slight film which rests on a number of foundations: the period reconstruction, the tension as to the nature of the developing relationship between Monroe and Clark, the tensions on set, the quality of the performances and, most of all, Michelle Williams' as Monroe.

The film leaves you with nothing more than what you already knew about Monroe. Even with it's amazing performances, it falls short of anything that will be remembered years from now. There are much better pictures about our subject. The biggest issue is the simple lack of new information.

My rating of 5/10 is at once both generous and not. Olsen does the best she can but ultimately the director hits the wrong tone and the cinematography is at times distractingly bad.

I kept waiting for that point where one character proves to be more than what we were led to believe early on that they were, but no.

Still there's enough basic frights and minimal suspense to keep you entertained during a matinée showing so on that level I can't knock the film. The problem is there were several moments where I was left wondering why not a little more exploration into these characters or the story.

I give credit to Olsen for doing the best she could to overcome weak direction, editing, cinematography, and screen writing.

There are only a handful of indie films that have a distinct lasting affect on the audience--these are movies you either get, or you don't. And if you don't get it, you won't hate it, but simply find it too odd for your liking. Open minded viewers need only apply, and that's certainly the case with "Transatlantic Coffee." I remember leaving the theater absolutely shocked, and not just because of the events on screen. I was shocked that I found the movie so intelligent and oddly entertaining. The actors surely must have felt that, after reading the screenplay.

The subject matter is truly unsettling at times. Transatlantic Coffee, even with it's extreme modest budget, is a masterpiece of irony (even in the title), and finds humor in the most unusual and downright bizarre circumstances. You will not see another movie like it. Guaranteed. And fair warning--you could very well be confused by it's approach and reasoning.