The American Side

For a specifically tailored thriller, "The American Tide" might satisfy the fans of classic genre with its suave cinematography, brash dialogues and distinct plot surrounding Tesla. However, many of the characters are thrown in haphazardly, the subplots pile in while the detective moves forward and aside from a couple of catchphrases there's not much connection to be had.

At first look, the movie has all the signs of noir, it's only lacking the actual word plastered on the opening title. The visual is engaging, using a slight modern touch for the lingering last century style, heavily resembling Art Deco. The camera angles are finely tuned and nicely position for romantic effect, which is definitely a boon to establish any scene of this nature.

The characters trade banter with bravado, this might be entertaining for a brief period yet it's not a substitute for full character development. In many points the plot moves by introducing new people or twist, although the writing feels like many short stories sewn in together with only one lining.

The most glaring obstacle is it doesn't provide sense of urgency or threat, the plot progresses, or stumbles forward, but the drive for characters is timid. It is visually pleasing and filled with noir elements, but it's only partially riveting.

"That's a gene pool screamin' for chlorine." That is just one of many one liners I enjoyed in this film. And I have to like a middle aged balding guy who writes a film about the designs of Nicola Tesla and places it in his hometown of Buffalo. And he plays the lead - a churlish hardboiled detective (slightly Bruce Willis inspired). Good for you Greg Stuhr! His character reminds me of Bosch - if you have seen that Series.

Buffalo and Niagara Falls make interesting locations. There are a lot of great shots of the Falls. There are four decent female roles which I like. Plus some major talent with Matthew Broderick and a few old stars like Robert Vaughn and Robert Forster, who has 177 credits to his name.

Both cinematography and the sound track are excellent. It is slightly too long. The plot is a somewhat convoluted but I don't care. I like this movie and I like the aspiration of making such a film on a small budget. And would love to see Greg Stuhr playing a detective on one of the cable or network cop shows.

This is the third indie film noir I have seen recently, and this is the best so far. It's an entertaining and absorbing 90 minutes, diligently written and directed and with unusually good acting performances by all concerned.

In a nutshell; Nicola Tesla was a prolific and important inventor. One invention, especially, had great importance but no one can find a complete copy of it; only one half of it exists. Private Eye/blackmailer Charlie Paczynski stumbles onto a plot wherein several agencies and countries are involved in a search for the other half. And thereby hangs a tale...

There are two minor flaws to mention; one is an extremely elaborate plot which requires your undivided attention so that you don't lose the thread. The other is the presence of Matthew Broderick, woefully miscast as an unscrupulous corporate CEO. He is too young and babyfaced, totally devoid of menace for the role of the heavy. Moreover, he seems disinterested and half-hearted in his role.

However, if you are a noir fan, go see it. It's worth your time. There are some Dashiell Hammett touches to be found, including a hard-drinking hero and some snappy Hammett dialogue (some of which falls flat). But don't forget to pay attention.

Well, what can i say, this leading actor has got no charisma, he looks (and is or should be) a tv-movie actor. That's not the only trouble this movie has got though...

More bad: the story is boring. The direction is as well, because there simply is no suspense, no thrill. And Matthew Broderick and Robert Forster only have very short lasting appearances which neither can lift this movie up either anyway.

What a dudd of a movie.

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.