Albatross

Toss in some vintage Douglass Sirk, a dash of Todd Haynes, a dollop of Mamet'esque/James Ellroy snappy dialogue & you have the Albatross aesthetic:)

This is a brilliant, original film that manages to achieve a varied array of tonal shifts that go from creepy & hallucinatory to Merchant/Ivory class study... Obviously, others will have problems with the fact the film isn't declaring itself as just 'one thing': thriller, horror, LGBT, romance, etc. The filmmaker has created a most fascinating mise en scene in this multi-character study, which vacillates from a 'coming out of the closet' to Cassavetes- like journey of personal discovery with Katherine Gauthier (a star in the making, her performance is brilliant here) as the Gena Rowlands like heroine... Combine that w/ an almost Mamet-esq cadence & witty banter, however Boston Brahmin instead of Chicago. Yes, after a few viewings, once the clever tonal audacity has settled, one can easily spot a plot hole or two, but it should not deter any cinephile from really discovering a new voice in Film.

It's my sincerest hope Director (obviously w/ an incredible background in Production Design as he put his talents to work turning his parents humble abode in Ontario to a swank mansion of sorts... all on a shoestring during COVID), Myles Yaksich gets to make another film w/ more tools at his disposal. He's an amazing talent & can't wait to see what he does next!

Albatross is a stunning slice of cinema appealing to both the viewer's visual sensibilities and musings of the mind. It's themes are varied and provocative and director Myles Yaksich succeeds in communicating complex subjects in an elevated and intriguing artistic manner. Moments of comedy alleviate stronger themes with light-hearted reprise and overall the piece stylistically presents an opportunity to challenge one's own perspective's of the present by experiencing the questions of characters from another time.

The bad: C-listed actors. Yes, that's the really bad part about this "movie".

More bad: this is simply yet another cheaply made television product sold to us viewers as a "movie", but it doesnt even come close to being a movie.

No suspense. No drama. No spark or punch. Totally BLAND.

I gave this a chance entirely because of the film poster, which looked intriguing, but unfortunately could not get all the way through it. Nicely shot, if on an obviously tight budget, and passable TV-level acting, but it failed to grab the attention at any point, so most of my thinking started being taken up with trying to figure out what political point it was attempting to lecture me on, and who put up the money for it.

On the surface, it seemed to be all about homosexuality and race relations in 1950s America - although the depictions felt very anachronistic - but the characters were so flat and lifeless, and the dialogue so trite, I honestly couldn't focus in on it and so eventually gave up. I've really no idea why this was made, or who believed in it enough to pay the bills: my best guess would be that it's a wealthy person's vanity project, or some kind of student film made on a grant handed out for its unclear but box-ticking social content. Oddly puzzling but very boring.

I had no idea what to expect going in, but the emotional twists and turns had me guessing where the story was going the entire time. The second half of the film really picks up and the dominos start falling, one after another! And what an ending, didn't see it coming!

This is one that will make you think!