Life After Ex

There you are, standing right at the edge of the life you always imagined for yourself; about to take a big step forward. You breathe deep and close your eyes, unable to believe your luck. The door's half open. Your foot starts.

Everything has come together--finally. On your left the view's great. To your right things couldn't look better. What brought you here makes you strong. Nothing can beat you now. You lift one foot. Your hand pushes the door open. Then, in front of you, that life you are about to step into isn't there. It never was. Everything around you crumbles.

A feeling like the one you'd experience in such a situation permeates throughout "Life After Ex"-not a comedy, but a splendid dramatic piece with subtle funny moments scattered here and there.

This indie film not only explores the fragility of love and the longing for deep human connections in a meaninglessly overconnected world, but also that of perception in the ever-changing puzzle that is self discovery.

I walked into this movie knowing nothing about it. When it was over, I had this strange and happy feeling that I had just discovered a rare gem with a real and unpretentious thing to say.

I am all too familiar with the work of Producer/Director Jim Fields (Flyover Country; Bugeaters, Preserve Me a Seat). He never ceases to amaze me with the depth and diversity of the material he is able to successfully bring to life on the screen.

Life After Ex, is just one of those movies. Just when you think you are watching just another story about the trials and tribulations of a gay couple in today's America, and another story about same sex marriages, you suddenly realize how invested you are IN those same viewpoints, situations, emotions and very raw feelings that the characters on the screen are portraying. All too often you find yourself saying; "been there, done that". However, in this case, it's the new reality being experience by gay men and women around the world.

Although Life After Ex is sometimes very tough to watch, because it can hit close to home, you find yourself wanting to absorb their life story and learn who these characters are and how their situations intertwine and may even relate to yours.

As in any good human drama, you'll find yourself rooting for the good guys and jeering the ones who are thinking only of their own 'needs', and not those of the ones they hurt, sometimes without any guilt. When the final credits roll, you realize that, as painful as it was to watch at times, you have grown.

The performances by the superb local Nebraska cast, give an even greater sense of reality, and help to engulf you in the truth of life as a gay man in today's world. Nicklaus Knipe gives a very riveting performance which must certain be drawn from his real life experiences. The remainder of the cast step up to successfully portray the character they were hired to interpret.

While this movie may not be for everyone, I would highly recommend it to those, in a relationship or not, who are finding themselves in situations that make them depressed, uncomfortable or even living in fear of physical harm from their partner. It is ok to speak up. It is ok to get away from caustic environments, and Fields clearly crafts the story and directs his actors in such a way as to convey those messages, yet keeping the main message always upfront and light.

There IS Life After Ex, and it can be a very fulfilling and rewarding time no matter your age.

Imagine for a moment trying to end your marriage when it's not even legal in every State, and attempting to rebuild your life in the process. This Nebraska Independent film tackles this issue in a most entertaining, albeit real, way. It's a story with heart, portrayed by some excellent local actors, cinematography and scene concepts. Hollywood does not have the corner on the market, there is amazing talent everywhere. I saw "Life After Ex "at the Prairie Lights Film Festival in Grand Island, Ne.

I've read the 4 reviews that were previously posted for this "film" and I'm wondering...Did we watch the same movie? Because if we did, then I can only surmise that these 4 people are either family or friends of Jim Fields...which then I can understand their effusive praise.

The movie I watched in fact was aptly titled, the only problem is that it is unlike a life anyone would had after their divorce. Jim Fields tries hard to write, direct and produce (but surprisingly not act in it) a credible film about a year in the life of Dylan Holms, a character I disliked from the beginning of the movie. I wanted so badly to root for this sad sack guy, the poor man could not catch a break, I felt sorry for him, and in the beginning I was genuinely sympathetic. It was well before the first half was finished that my sadness and sympathetic feelings for this young man turned into great annoyance and dislike for him...the entire game changed when it became apparent to me that Dylan Holms is nothing short of the village idiot...all of these terrible things that happen to him are a direct result that he has absolutely no common sense...how he was able to make it to adulthood and has a great job (something like a web developer) has got to be the direct result of a third miracle that the Vatican needs to canonize a saint...but I can't blame it all on the way this character was written...the actor, Nick Knipe who portrays Dylan came across as wooden and unprepared...he delivers his dialogue as if he were reading it from a teleprompter off stage and any emotion he showed was forced if it existed at all...he was woefully miscast and while I can believe that he was married to the first husband, I could not believe for one minute that he was engaged to a gym bunny nick named "Brock the Rock" or that he had any kind of romantic relationship with John a best selling hunky writer who thought he was in love with our Dylan from the moment he laid eyes on him...sorry NOT believable...I understand that on these low budget indie films their choices are very limited and have to use a lot of bottom feeder actors who are either starting out with no experience, knows someone or sleeping with someone like a director or producer, or is related to said director and producer (not always, but 8 out of 10 times this is true)...What I didn't expect was that Mr. Fields chose to cast his entire movie with "talent" from what I have to assume is called the Talentless Agency( whose motto is "Everyone works no matter how they are") Either the entire cast got their lines the morning of or were allowed to ad lib if they forgot a line (reshooting costs a lot of $$ that they don' have)...almost every single actor in this film delivered their respective lines in a such a way, they must have borrowed Nick Knipe's teleprompter (one hopes that they had enough $$ to rent them in bulk)...As much as I would like to review all the actors who had speaking lines, that would be impossible due to lack of space...however, I did want to mention 2 actors who surprised me and showed a lot of potential...Joe DeSanti as Brock and Justin Parker as John...their performances while wooden, were the only two that showed any hint at real emotion

Fun seeing your own city in this movie, cast is fresh and keeps your attention the whole time! Good movie for being a low budget film!