Silver Tongues

Having seen the original incarnation of this, back when it screened with Simon's other short "Rebel Song", I was intrigued and excited to see how it had evolved into a full-length feature - filmed in a different country and with new lead actors.

"Silver Tongues" is deserving of all the high critical praise and festival awards it has garnered, being - as it is - an engaging thriller that keeps you constantly guessing, and with a pay-off that tells you enough but no more. It drew me in to such an extent that I was genuinely surprised when it ended, its running time having flown by.

As an intelligent, witty, captivating story, it is very hard to fault. If you get the chance to see it, do so.

Simon Arthur expanded his 2007 short about two lovers who travel place to place, almost randomly, wrecking peoples lives and inflicting emotional cruelty upon them. While this idea is a good one --- it's been favorably (and accurately) compared to Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men" --- it doesn't satisfy us the way that film did. It still feels at the end of the runtime as a bit of a nihilistic let-down.

The film almost works better as a quartet of short films all stapled together. Every single one of these vignettes is tight as a drum and very absorbing: they suck you in with the vacuum of a veteran con artist playing short-change tricks on you at a bar.

That the core of the film is held together with icy nimbleness by TV vets Lee Tergesen (Red Widow, The Big C, Army Wives) and Enid Graham (Gray's Anatomy, Boardwalk Empire) is both shocking and exciting. One doesn't expect the broad range and elasticity their performances bubble over with. Tergesen is blessed with a neutral, almost banal affect that reminds you of Bill Pullman's knack for portraying casually moral-less characters and Graham wears an almost eerily poker-faced mask throughout, lustily daring you to read her thoughts, and then laughing disdainfully at you when you make the mistake of attempting it.

If you like suspenseful drama pieces and plays, don't miss this one. It has all of the elements of vintage LaBute or David Mamet. It will make you think and stay with you, even if it doesn't quite gel into the cohesiveness that might otherwise render it a classic.

Silver Tongues is a film that captures your attention from the start and does not release it till the very end! Dark, tense and very ironic, it is one of the most original plots I have ever seen on screen.The story follows a man and a woman as they go around testing the human condition and making people question themselves, their beliefs, and those they profess to know. The road of destruction that they carve causes the audience to wonder where they will turn next and what fate they will fall victim to. The acting is amazing and the story is constantly keeping you guessing what will happen next even though it is impossible to even start finding out what the next move is. I highly recommend it!

I saw this movie at Slamdance last year and maybe it was my hangover, but I remember thinking HURRY UP in the first section because it seemed a little tame, but then came the biggest sucker punch a movie's dealt me in years. I won't say what happens cause it'll be a spoiler, but the whole movie just dragged me off into the night and blew my mind. I loved every minute of it. Sure, it's low budge and there's a couple of things that could be better (the police station looks like a set), but I've really never seen anything like this film. When I was younger and I watched indie films, they used to surprise, shock and excite me, and that rarely seems to happen anymore. I cannot wait to see this movie again, I just wish it'd come out on DVD quicker!!

Silver Tongues is a deeply engaging psychological thriller about characters operating outside the rules of civilized discourse. Why do they do it? Why not? I came upon this film without warning at the Annapolis Prentious Film Society screening, and felt that it was better than nearly every other film I saw in 2011. If we're going to nominate 9 films for best picture, Silver Tongues should have been one of them.

Lee Tergesen is a superb actor, and this script allows him to explore all of the crazy stuff that must be lurking in his subconscious. Enid Graham is sexy and just as in touch with the outrageous. The script is well structured, with a lot of engaging subtext. Independent cinema at its best.