Levity

I was fortunate enough to have been invited by a friend to preview this film at a press screening. Included in the press kit given to me at the screening was background information about the film which enhanced my viewing experience. What I found intriguing was the fact that the film was inspired by such a compelling personal experience. While attending UCLA (Writer-Director) Ed Solomon was tutoring a teenager in a maximum security juvenile prison. One of his students was a boy serving a life sentence for murder who carried around a photo of his victim, often holding and touching it. This experience was the catalyst for "LEVITY".

Written and directed by Ed Solomon who is best known for writing such comedies as "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures" and "Men in Black". This is an impressive directing debut.

The film stars Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst and Holly Hunter. This is a story of an ex con (Thornton) who is unexpectedly released early from prison for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. He tries to find some kind of personal redemption with the help of minister (Freeman) and two woman (Hunter) and (Dunst).

I was immersed in the story almost immediately. The interaction between Freeman and Dunst is dynamic and authentic. The cast is exceptional and the perfomances outstanding. I found this film to be not only insightful,inspiring and thought provoking but it also had several FUNNY moments.

It is shot by four time Oscar nominated Director of Photography Roger Deakins who added pleasing imagery. Worth mentioning is the music of Mark Oliver Everett.

This film leaves a lasting impression and I found myself reflecting on it a few days after I saw it. I highly recommend this film and plan on seeing it again in April when it opens.

How does one make things right? Seek forgiveness? Where does redemption reside and how do you get there? How does a wounded soul reconcile guilt? This is a slow and thoughtful character study set during a grim and dreary winter in an urban town. This is not a Hollywood movie. It's raw with real life. It's apparent ugliness is its sheer inescapable beauty. Morality does exist no matter how we try to hide. Thornton, after spending over 20 years in prison for the murder of a young convenience store clerk during a robbery gone haywire in his youth, is drawn to return to his old neighborhood to visit the older sister of the young man he killed, played by Holly Hunter. She doesn't quite know who he really is since so many years have gone by. Thornton was content to live out his remaining years behind bars but must now face his past because his sentence was suddenly commuted. Bleak with melancholy, this type of film gets shunned by audiences and it's a shame. Morgan Freeman plays a mysterious soup kitchen minister who has his own issues, whom Thornton comes to work for. Freeman is a natural actor and believable in any role. The story unfolds slowly without gimmicks. At times, Thornton happens to find himself visited by the ghostly apparition of the young man whom he killed, while he is in the process of seeking resolution and atonement. His simple desire is to somehow make amends. He wants to be forgiven but, strangely, he is unable and unwilling to forgive himself. Unfortunately, unresolved redemption seems to be too deep a theme for contemporary audiences who are hooked on chills and thrills and pyrotechnics. This is an independent film, the kind that many people just don't get. A movie for your quiet time or a rainy night. Something different and refreshing. And no silly happy ending to mar the proceedings.

"Levity" (2003) Artfully melancholic. Real, perhaps even surreal as this story quietly, yet gracefully plumbs the depths between reality & perception, introspection, fate and (mis)fortune. Heart-wrenching in its sincerity.

The story revolves about a man freed from concrete walls and bars, but not of his conscious. What follows is a remarkable journey into the thought and life of a man seeking redemption. As his journey begins, he encounters the beginnings of a new life. Laid bare & unpretentious, the mood is set within the confines of what one may encounter upon re-entering society. The cinematography is excellent, appropriate and chillingly in-line with the theme of this movie. Top-notch actors in supporting roles make this film a "must see". This is, a great film.

This first time director, Ed Solomon, makes an incredible change over from writing films for the masses, by writing and directing this introspective and moody look into the troubled souls of the fallen. I just caught up to it on cable. At any rate, it was well worth watching. This is an Indie that makes a statement without punching us in the head with it.

Manuel, the lifer that is released at the beginning of the film, ends up looking for a connection with the family of the convenient store clerk he shot and killed during his wild youth. Now, Manuel is older and wiser and knows that he has been spared from the mean streets. It doesn't seem logical for him to do so, but in a way, is his way to express his sorrow at the horror he caused by being reckless.

The encounter with Adele, and her acceptance of this odd man is a bit hard to understand. This woman reacts with caution at first, but realizes Manuel is harmless; thus begins the friendship between them, without a hint of the actual identity of Manuel.

The thing that didn't make sense is the presence of Sofia, a child of privilege in the seedy club that is near the soup kitchen that Miles, another mysterious character runs. Once we overcome those hurdles, it is easy to see where the director is taking us.

Billy Bob Thornton plays Manuel as a man on auto pilot. The world he encounters when he is released is a world so different from what he knew. Mr. Thornton gives another phenomenal performance. Holly Hunter makes an understated Adele. She approaches the character with an economy that is amazing, yet we know at all times what this woman is feeling.

Although Sofia, the young woman appears to be confused and out of place, Kirsten Dunst is quite effective as she plays her. The only one that does not convince us is Miles, perhaps because of Morgan Freeman's approach to this man. Dorian Harewood has a small, but intense moment in the story.

An Ed Solomon film starring Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter and Kirsten Dunst. This is a very personal film by the writer of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Men in Black. Too slow-moving for mainstream acceptance, this is nevertheless a movie of depth and compassion. It grapples with the issue of redemption, and leaves the audience with uncertainty that is nonetheless remarkably calming-hope without moralism. Thornton was . Thornton. He has the range of a tetherball. I don't think Morgan Freeman is at his best in this film. And we don't see enough of Holly Hunter to appreciate her. The film had some very funny moments, but I can't think of a less appropriate title. Having said all that, this movie is worth the trip because it is thought-provoking, subtle and oddly inspiring.