The Photographer

"The Photographer" is one of those one man indies and it shows. The film is awful drivel...a pathetic attempt to piggy-back some dumbassed apocalyptic revelation into a Wizard of Oz'ish kind of thing with a bunch of weird people wandering around NYC looking for lost photos. Hey, you can't go a gallery show with 8x10's, OK! Jeeesh! This film sucked and was one huge waste of time.

I think it's really sad when someone watches a movie, and when it's not all Hollywood bells and whistles totally smashes it to pieces in a review! I purchased this movie used, mainly because some of the actors (Maggie) and the name of the movie - and of course, interest - what could have happened to this guy to ruin his life over losing some photographs?!?!? Eventually, you realize the underlying message of the movie....Your vision is already within you...It's a good message, even though parts of the movie might seem far fetched, I liked the odd-balls all ending up befriending one another, I liked the visuals of the NY street scenes. Not all movies that are indie suck, you just have to LOOK to see what is really there. And by the way, I have done a gallery showing with only 8 X 10's.......

From acting to visuals this film is a gem - a diamond in the rough. I was blown away by the performances headed up by the star, Reg Rogers, a master of his craft. This is Maggie G's first big role and it is a wonderful start to a now star studded career. Rob Campbell and Chris Bauer are fantastic. The writer/director, Jeremy Stein, has created a remarkable movie that not only is about something but is also vastly entertaining. It's films like this that make you believe that there is still hope for modern cinema. I can't wait to see the next film from this gifted filmmaker.

This movie is a dream-like parable of a pretentious N.Y. photographer who has learned that art must come deep from the heart and be authentic. He has lost his native ability in the glamour of the artistic "in-crowd" and finds his way with the help of underclass mentors. The importance of his pictures pale in comparision to the image of life he derives in his journey.

Jeremey Stein's maladroit "The Photographer" is one of those films that has an uneven balance of good and bad qualities where the bad outweigh the good. This is a film filled with some lyrical magic, but the direction is just so inept. "The Photographer" feels shallow, although the characters are relatively well-written and the story is thorough. When the film should draw you in, it turns you off with a constant feel of unintentional silliness. Stein should consider choosing a director for his scripts.

"The Photographer" is something of a modern day fairy tale about a, you guessed it, photographer who luckily finds success with a collection of beautiful stills that make him eminent. A year later, he looks through the art he has preserved for his follow-up and finds that it is all less than satisfactory. Later he goes to a bar only to find gorgeous photographs sitting next to him, belonging to a strange man he had been speaking with. Then he helps a man being mugged on the street, gets knocked unconcious, finds his pictures are gone as well as the parts of his car. He begins a late night journey to find the missing stills.

The problems arise when more and more and more unappealing characters join him on his quest. They are all ultimately annoying in their own ways, irritating, distracting and fatally pointless. For some it's the acting, but others just a bland feel of nothingness. Not even Maggie Gyllenhaal can save the dorkiest of characters.

The long night isn't terribly paced or aimless, it's just where it ends up. The film has an all too Hollywood conclusion not seen in many indie films these days. I liked some of the style used in this film, like cleverly placed clocks seen as the night goes on and a fun use of yellow, but the the bad qualities fastly eat away at a potentially good premise.

There are better films in this sub-genre. I would not reccomend watching "The Photographer" even if the premise is as intriguing to you as it was to me. I would recommend the other films, like John Shear's "Urbania" or Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut".