Let Them Chirp Awhile

I saw this film at the East Lansing Film Festival.

Director Jonathan Blistein has made a wonderful and entertaining film starring Justin Rice as a hopeful screenwriter suffering from writer's block in the Big Apple. The very opinionated Rice has to look after a friend's dog which only adds to the insanity of his hectic work. This film is about relationships, falling in and out of love, and trying to make everything work out, no matter what the consequences.

The cast was great, I really enjoyed Justin Rice, he seemed so relaxed and really became the character. There were also a number of great supporting performances and a lot of great bit parts (including a very amusing cameo). And the dog is so hilarious, it nearly steals the show in every scene it's in.

The whole New York setting was great, it was basically a character of its own. All of the different locations and settings, it shows parts of the city that aren't normally shown in films. There were also some creative camera tricks and editing techniques.

The entire play sequence is extremely entertaining, it really shows how much effort needs to be put into making a film, especially an independent one. Trying to be creative and coming up with new things, having clever dialogue that doesn't come off as being too clever, working with numerous actors and extras, and all of the changes in lighting and locations. Everything is pulled off in these scenes, this is a great film for aspiring filmmakers to watch and take notes on.

The director was at the screening of the film and told some very amusing stories about the making of it. You could tell he put everything he had into making this film. And the work paid off. Blistein made a very impressive feature film debut. Let Them Chirp Awhile is funny, entertaining, and it has a lot of great moments that stick with the viewer long after seeing the film. I'm really looking forward to seeing where he goes from here.

I went in to this flick not really knowing what to expect and, leaning more towards the white-collar breed, was admittedly a bit intimidated by the film's New York 'hipster' lifestyle focus that I know little of. I was pleasantly surprised to find that after sitting through the first 15 minutes of the film, it was evident that the main characters weren't really 'hip' at all, and that the central storyline, character types, and basic human interactions were easily relatable.

For a first film, some of the shots are fantastic - it's clear that the director is influenced by Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick (I'm not saying expect 'Manhattan' or '2001', but you'll get the picture...it's a far cry from some of the IFC films you see that look like they were shot with your mom's $200 Sony camcorder). But the impressive performance by the cast is what helped pull the whole picture together, and it made me surprised that this was only granted a limited release. Chirp is witty and entertaining, with cinematographic and stylistic integrity, and just enough intellectual undertones to keep you intrigued without coming off as pretentious. The film, like its main character, strives to find a balance between humility and pride - between self-critical honesty and self-supporting confidence.

The film really connects to a broad audience - anyone who is or has been a 20-something striving to find themselves will have their hair blown back. It's really just an enjoyable 90 minutes. And as he begins to define and hone his style, I'll be looking forward to seeing what Blitstein's got coming in the future - thumbs up!