Solitude

I will not be looking at the writing or the performance but just at the overall picture: this movie is so slow... It felt like an hour and a half had past just watching the first 40 minutes. I get the whole build up in the story and the history people have that they would rather not have other people now, but this is just torture.

Because the story is slow the bad performance of the actors stands out, making the movie even more slow and you just stop noticing what the characters are trying to tell each other. I don't even care anymore how it ends, I just want it to stop... And after 50 minutes I decided it was time to do so...

Wonderful writing and deft character studies are highlights of this twisted offering from Susan Kraker and Pi Ware. The film's dark comedy and slow pace make for a sense of claustrophobia and suspense, and the twist ending will leave your jaw agape.

Fans of sharply observed familial interactions will appreciate the excellent writing. The Arizona setting also lends to the sense of loneliness--or solitude--in which each character moves.

Great performances from the whole cast. Definitely recommended for fans of subtlety and well written dialogue. Keep an eye on these filmmakers, as Solitude shows prodigious talent and a potential for more great things to come.

The husband and wife team of Pi Ware and Susan Kraker prove that you can produce an intriguing psychological drama on a micro-budget with this impressive writing and directorial debut every bit as compelling as the highest quality whodunit one might expect from a big Hollywood studio.

This multi-layered mystery first focuses on Hilary (Mary Thornton) and Soledad (Ronne Orenna), a couple of bohemians cozily bonding in a flophouse on a commune in the desert somewhere outside of Phoenix.

As the story opens, we learn that they've just decided to relocate to Flagstaff, with plans of having Hilary act as agent for Native American artist Soledad. But after packing her portfolio, Soledad discovers that their pick-up truck won't start. So, the determined duo then head over to Hilary's slob of a brother's (Patrick Belton) apartment to borrow his car.

Louis lives in a pig-sty featuring a fetid decor which includes a tie-dyed sheet on a wall, a cock-eyed Abe Lincoln poster, and piles of filth filling every nook and cranny. Luckily, they happen to arrive just in time to prevent Louis from slitting his wrists.

Instead of continuing out of town, Hilary convinces an understanding and alarmed Soledad that they need to stay with her brother, at least until her suicidal sibling is mentally stable again. What ensues is an ever-escalating, sexually-charged game of give-and-take, fueled by alcohol, pot, pills and plenty of selfish manipulation.

Congrats to the cast of virtual unknowns for expertly executing Ware and Kraker's cleverly-crafted script which often seems so sophisticated that it must have been meant for the stage. It's stocked with enough twists to keep any audience on the edge of its seat every step of the way and wondering exactly who's kidding who here. Are the women lesbians and lovers? Is the dysfunctional, co-dependent brother-sister relationship incestuous? Are Soledad and Louis attracted to each other? How these possible permutations will play out in this combustible, claustrophobic pressure cooker is anybody's guess.

A lacerating look at three lives on the edge.

First, let me say that the regrettable number of "1" votes for this film cannot reflect anything other than incomprehension or spite. The qualitative reality of this film is that the writing, story and acting are better than 95% of anything available. The writing alone for this film is such that I'm puzzled why the writers/directors haven't had awards piling up in their living room since its release. (Maybe they have and I just don't know about it.) Perhaps the most remarkable thing to me about this film is how much complexity of character and conflict is revealed in the writing, all the while maintaining that elusive blend of masterful control and natural expression. Some screenwriters will be inspired by this film, others will ask themselves, "With this kind of competition, why should I bother?" How can great independent films like this get larger audiences? My sincere hope is that the writer/director duo go on to make many more films.