The Unseen

It seems that too many people have given The Unseen mediocre reviews, but I see it very differently. I recently saw The Unseen at the Chicago Film Festival, and I was very touched by the film. The relationships between the characters can be very subtle, but incredibly moving. Gale Harold and Steve Harris do a particularly good job, and the rest of the cast is brilliant. Although the beginning may have a bit of a slow start for some, it's all worth it in the emotional, beautiful ending. It's not often that a film can make me bawl, and The Unseen did just that. France has done a wonderful job, and I'd recommend this story to anyone who loves great independent work.

The Unseen, an undeniably impressive film, takes you into the bizarre and twisted Southern style life vicariously thru multiple intriguing characters. Dysfunctional families have never seemed so harmonious. The Writers have seemingly pulled out all the stops of "political correctness" to exhibit what true pain and suffering looks like when prejudice and hate are the bane of one's existence. Phillip Bloch's performance as "Sammy" is purely outstanding; his character will entice the range of emotions within you~~ one moment you're feeling the pains of embarrassment for him and the next your standing proud next to him with his mismatched attire for his "childlike" disposition brings the movies complexities back to simplicity; Simplicity which takes all the prejudice and hate that one has to offer and just asks "WHY~~ Why can't you just let me be who I am?" Gale Harold as "Harold", is simply sensational in portraying this cocktail of mixed emotions which stem from his post traumatic childhood psychological trauma coupled with his innate "goodness from within" that he has always had buried so deep from within. This film is sure to move you through a realm of emotions and realizations while at the same time discerning the truth which lies within "The Unseen".

I really want to rate this film higher, but it just seemed a little slow at times. That is to take nothing away from a great story about friendship and love and secrets. You have to wait until the end for everything to wrap and make sense, but it was well worth the wait.

Two boys, Roy (Steve Harris) and Harold (Gale Harold) were best friends, "like two ticks on a hound dog," as children. Something happened to break them up and Roy leave town. When he returns for his father's funeral, you see the tension and believe it to be racial. The woman who loves Roy (Catherine Dent) thinks maybe he "bats for the other team." There is a lot of humor when Sammy (Phillip Bloch) is in the picture. he is Harold's blind brother. Harold seems to relish picking on him, but he really seems to do the best he can in caring for him. Sammy may be blind, but he sees a lot of things better than many of us. he is unconcerned about what others think and dresses for comfort, and speaks his mind freely.

The secrets are things that we do not like to talk about, but some of us have dealt with in profession endeavors. It is enough to keep the two men at odds. It is a tragedy that things ended the way they did, but then some really good things also happened as a result. Out of the bad, good; that seems to be the way life is sometimes.

I saw The Unseen at a NYC screeening Friday night and loved it. This film had a wonderful story, directing, acting, writing, editing etc. I was completely drawn in by the story and characters and I felt as if I was living alongside these characters in this small Georgia town. There was also some great humor in the film as well! Gale Harold was brilliant- he is one of the most nuanced actors I have ever seen and he blew me away in this role- I felt both afraid of him and compassion for him at the same time. The film is heartbreaking and hopeful and really beautiful. I hope so much that a distribution deal comes through because I will certainly buy it. There are so many parallels to catch in the film. I give it a 10. Amazing.

OK up front I will say I went to see this film because Gale Harold was in it. But very quickly I realized I was watching an utterly moving film that was going to have a lot to say! Lisa France did a great job in writing this and knowing she would be opening up a couple cans of worms with the issues! There is a basic background one is given about an incident that happened to two boys and how each one reacts differently in their lives to cope with this event. Steve Harris and Gale Harold played their parts perfectly. Steve Harris (Roy) is brought back to the town he grew up in only to be ignored and verbally abused by Gale's character (Harold). You're watching this and thinking, there are no redeeming qualities about "Harold" and it's painful to watch. ...but you find after awhile, in spite of yourself, you do kind of like him, he is doing the best he can with the crappy life he has been dealt. For that I give merit to Gale's acting ability! It must have been tough job to pull this one off! It's a touching, sometimes disturbing and yet also funny film. Well worth seeing if you get the chance! Just be prepared to have a couple emotional reactions when the lights come back up in the theater.