God, what this film could have been. Solid actors, good and sometimes great cinematography, extraordinary locations and a plot around Nikola Tesla's secret inventions. And it is even decently produced. But man, why why why did nobody realize the script was not at that same level at all??? Why did nobody stop the film's development until it was??? I don't know the director but the old rule of cinema says that it is almost impossible to make a good film out of a bad script. "The American Side" is a textbook example to that rule. There are plot holes everywhere, the characters are all overdeveloped on some narrow aspects that make them "authentic" in the moments - mostly the scenes that introduce them - but not enough to render them credible. The male protagonist's motivations shift continuously and although we learn about many of his habits, at the end we have no clue who he really is and what makes him tick. The worst is that plot- and story-logic are both awfully flawed in so many places that to call this film a "thriller" would be an insult to the genre. Again, I am not saying this to be mean, but because it made me sad to see so much potential go wasted so badly.
A film about Nicola Tesla's secret inventions would have deserved a better story, a better writer, and probably a better producer (not sure about the director, see above).
There is not much more to say about this. No, this is not an indie, this is unfortunately not a film. And that is REALLY a pity. Really.
