Bare

I caught this on NetFlix last night. I thought it was good, a good movie that tells the story very well and with excellent acting. I had never seen any of the actors before and was pleasantly surprised. This is a character drama without much action besides the interpersonal drama which I enjoy but maybe isn't for everyone.

The story will resonate with anyone who grew up in a small town and was bored and frustrated by that limited existence. Sarah Barton works at the grocery store, is bored with her job and her life, and looks around at all of the people still in the town and can't imagine growing up and living here her whole life. Her mother and boyfriend are in town but they don't do much to help her tolerate it. She wants something to happen in her life but doesn't know how to go about it.

In drifts Pepper, a classic charismatic drifter with a dark side, who befriends Sarah and leads her into a sordid world of striptease, sex and drugs.

I thought the interplay between the two leads was excellent and they clearly had chemistry and played their parts so well it didn't seem like acting at all. A scene near the end (no spoilers) where they both know they're lying to each other but are both pretending that they're not was played extremely well.

The scenes, supporting actors, and even costumes were so perfect for rural small town America that it was possible to believe every detail of the story.

The ending, while not completely "uncompromising" was satisfying and I thought both hopeful and realistic.

Overall a good movie.

This is not exactly a glowing review, but I do want to address something before I get down to any critique.

Giving a film one star even though you think it deserves more is just a crass and cynical thing to do, and the guy who admits he did so should be ashamed of himself for doing it. There are people who absolutely loved this movie. Fans of the actors in particular, which is to be expected. I myself absolutely loved it when I first saw it at its world premiere, and even rescheduled my flight to go back and watch it again a few days later. The cinematography is brilliant, and the role that Dianna Agron plays is far removed from anything else she's done. Her character is very passive and quiet, and thus it falls on her to act as much with her body language and expressions as her spoken words. She pulls it off brilliantly. If you're like me, you may very well come away with an 8-star feeling on your first viewing.

Having said that, after watching it a few more times I've started to see some of the shortcomings, though I do still think it's a good film. First of all, I think it helps to be able to relate to or imagine growing up not just in a small town, but in a town with literally nothing to offer besides mind-numbing lack of social life and completely menial nowhere jobs. If you can't put yourself in those shoes, you likely will not get a lot of the film's impact. If you've ever had a time in your life where drinking beer by the dump and then shooting at the cans was the highlight of your week, you'll definitely see where this comes from. That's not really a shortcoming, but it does limit what a lot of people can really get out of the story.

As I said above, the cinematography was generally brilliant. The cameras and the way this movie was shot do a great deal to set the scenes, often as much or more than the actors. There are, however, times when this attempt at making art with the cameras actually resulted in scenes that were difficult to understand simply because they were too subtle. Too artistic rather than advancing the narrative. There are also a few times when the narrative is just plain interrupted with awkward dialogue that really could have been either done away with or done better in a perfect world. More on that below.

The main actors, including Sarah's family and friends, were all brilliant with the exception (in my mind) of Paz de la Huerta. She was almost right for the role, but in the end her mannerisms just became too much; too distracting. There were a few scenes where her portrayal was almost like a record skipping in the middle of a song, and honestly she could have toned things down a bit and been better.

One last issue is simply because of what the film is. An indie by a first-time director shot on a very tight budget and a very limited time frame. When you consider that, this really is an amazing end product. Having talked to the producers, I know there were scenes they wish they could have re-shot, dialogue they wish they could have smoothed out, things they wish they'd done differently. But unlike with major studio productions, you often only have one real shot at it. There's not room in the schedule to scrap a day of shooting and try it over again. There's not room in the budget to pay for the use of a location or the crew salaries to go back and do it over. You have to get it right the first time.

They mostly did, and if you look at it like that this is definitely an achievement. It's a story that's overall well told and beautiful to look at. Of course it's not a brand new story nobody's ever told before, but it is overall well done and I think this one has enough going for it (and enough different about it) to be more than worth watching. Give it a try and see for yourself. It won't be some cinematic epiphany or holy experience, but you may just be glad you did.

Bare, A film about a young Woman, Sarah (Dianna Argon), who's having serious hardships in her life From Beginning to the end. Until she meets Pepper, (Paz De La Huerta), who drags Sarah into her world of lowlifes, Stripping, Drugs and Hustling. This Movie directed by Nathalia Leite surely disappoints. Because I wanted to know the fates of the two characters, who emotionally and romantically gets attached quickly. Unfortunately, It leaves no resolution for them.

My Rating: 6.0

This movie is amazing! It is a unique story told beautifully with a very talented cast.. Diana Agron and Paz De la Huerta are amazing in it! I already can't to see it again. It's beautifully shot and well put together. Always glad to see female directors shine! Impatiently waiting for it to be released in theaters...

Plot synopsis: Sarah Barton, played by the lovely Diana Agron, is a young girl from a Nevada desert town. After she is fired from her job, she meets Pepper, played by the amazing Paz De la Huerta, a female drifter. Pepper brings Sarah into her dangerous world of drugs and strip clubs led down a dangerous path of illicit drugs and seedy strip clubs. When they become romantically involved, Sarah begins to question the old boring girl she once was.

This is the worst movie I've ever been forced to sit through. Not sure how this even got made, luckily the general public will be spared as it won't ever be in a real movie theater.

Diana Agron and Paz De la Huerta are good actors but not in this film. It is pretty to look at, yet has absolutely no real direction or vision. There is no story, just fragments and half ideas thrown together. And despite being made by a woman director, it is full of the male gaze and old stereotypes. It's also extremely white and lacks diversity.

Plot synopsis: Poor young white woman in a small town who thinks her only way to escape is to become a stripper.

This is a very narrow-minded and contrived film with a formula we've seen a million times in bad 80s films. It's like the director just replaced the stereotypical bad-ass guy in a leather jacket with Paz De la Huerta.