This Is Martin Bonner

I decided to write this review in order to counterbalance the negative one posted by Farron34.

I liked this movie very much, because it showed real people and their simple lives. Because for Travis just out of prison, even a squalid motel room is a gift, and you perceive it without one word said in that regard. The way he walks out in the chilly air with a hot cup of coffee to look at the "outside" with a fantastic 360° pan around him showing real America: freeway, cars, asphalt, anonymous buildings, bright advertisement - nothing exceptional but the beautiful sunset light of the Nevada desert.

I liked the way it criticizes the Church of Christians, of the zealots, of those who live off the church and its charity but the observation is done gently and respectfully. There is more but you have to see it for yourself, the joy is in the details.

If you want spectacle and glitz this movie is not for you but if you want to observe a few human beings dealing with their banal, only life, filled with the little things that make it worth living, well, this is an excellent movie.

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER focuses on the lives of two misfits trying to adjust to a new life in the desert city of Reno, Navada. Australian émigré Martin (Paul Eenhoorn) tries to adjust to life as a volunteer in a local jail after having experienced a crisis of faith followed by long-term unemployment. Travis Holloway (Richmond Arquette) is released from the same jail, and attempts to forge a new life outside by living in a seedy motel and working as a car park attendant. Both men have grown-up children: Martin communicates mostly by phone, while Travis' daughter Diana (Sam Buchanan) hasn't seen her father since he went to prison twelve years previously. When father and daughter do meet, the conversation remains awkward, to say the least. Chad Hartigan's low-budget drama focuses on the loneliness of the two protagonists' lives as they spend their evenings in nondescript rooms, roam the streets either on foot, in the car or on the bus, and try to connect with people around them. Reno is hardly the place for lonely men to live; the streets are deprived of pedestrians, while cars endlessly shoot by on the interstate highway. The skies are crystal-clear, but the architecture seems to be deliberately designed to shut out as much daylight as possible. Sean McElwee's cinematography sums up the protagonists' lives through a clever use of framing; on several occasions their profiles are seen at the extreme left or right of the frame looking desolately at the landscape stretching endlessly before them. Even when they try to communicate, they are verbally challenged: what is not said is more significant than what is said. The narrative of THIS IS MARTIN BONNER unfolds at a slow pace, but the film remains a penetrating study of life in an impersonal city.

The film is well written, acted, directed and filmed. Simple, straight forward story which shows the difficulty of transitioning from prison to civilian life, and compassion at work through the character of Martin Bonner.

He's far from sainthood in terms of the church, but spot on at street level.

A movie well worth watching.

This fine little flick is a quick drive-by look at or into a brief moment in another persons life.

We never get a full background on any of the characters because the story just starts and then ends. What happens in between is one man, Bonner, driven to help others and never fully knowing if his efforts have actually helped.

And another man,Travis, needing help and not fully knowing if he is capable of meeting its' challenges. He needs help due to his past! His daughter has a brief visit which only accentuates Travis's insecurity.

I'm only giving seven stars because I don't feel enough character was given to Bonner to have just that name in the title. Travis actually plays the major role.

I came into this film expecting a character driven story without much action and that is exactly what I got. Overall, I liked the film. Each character's back story helped guide the audience into understanding what was currently going on. The characters are so well explained that I was able to relate to them and empathize with them. Travis is such a heartbreaking character that you almost feel relieved Martin comes along into his life. I can't leave out that beautiful 360 degree pan the camera takes in the hotel parking lot. Really effective method to help put yourself into the character's position of confusion and being at a crossroads, not knowing where to go or how to proceed. The only thing that left me a little unsatisfied with the story was that it kind of felt the relationship between Martin and Travis was simply one way. I don't feel Travis' character gave anything to Martin's character. That was the only thing I had against the film. Paul Eenhoorn and Richmond Arquette gave exquisite performances. Pretty decent film and can't wait to see how this director continues to develop as he continues to make movies.