Chrystal

Chrystal proved to be well worth watching. As usual, Billy Bob picks a movie with odd quirks and deeper meanings. His character Joe seeks forgiveness and a possible reconciliation with his wife Chrystal (Lisa Blount) after causing a wreck that kills their small son. Chrystal is also left with severe physical scars as well as mental wounds that will not heal. His return to Chrystal after a 20 year prison sentence is the central storyline. Billy Bob delivers a sad and touching performance as Joe. Lisa Blount does an excellent job as Chrystal. You feel her pain and hurt as you watch her struggle to deal with a life that has turned upside down. My favorite of all in this film was Walton Goggins' character,Larry. Goggins is an excellent actor, and "Larry," provides just enough comic relief (whether intended or not) to keep this movie from being too depressing to watch. Being a Southerner myself, I enjoyed the dialogue and Arkansas scenery. "Chrystal," while seeming deceptively simple, is an excellent film dealing with the struggle to find understanding with the often tough blows we receive in a harsh world.

Chrystal is a tragic story told with the well-crafted vision of Ray McKinnon. Visually, it is a beautiful glimpse of middle America in all its raw serenity. Its violence at times, although uncomfortable, seems necessary to provide the realism of the situation and the lives of these people.

It is a simple story of heartfelt emotion between a couple that has suffered and been broken by the loss of their child. Billy Bob Thorton and Lisa Blount battle through their individual pains, emotions and confusions with great fortitude and delivery. The story unfolds slowly, but is worth taking the journey. The supporting cast is stellar. Colin Firth as Hog is a treat.

Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Lisa Blount. Think of cross breeding the film "Deliverance" with Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter" and Werner Herzog's "Heart of Glass". Set in the backwoods of an Appalachian dead end live a few people who are battered and scarred by Life's events and each other. There's history at the turn of every dirt road. There are regrets and bad, stupid blood. Nothing has gone right for them, and they don't see it changing, except during rare bouts of fantasy. That's right, this isn't a comedy. It's a steady, low key, almost hypnotic depiction of desperation. Acting by the entire cast is good. No one appears to be acting, let alone foreign to the experience. The folk music is haunting, the scenes flawlessly believable. I swear I've driven through that area. I tried to not stop anymore than necessary.

Chrystal is a movie that just won't leave you alone after you've seen it. It takes its time and burrows under your skin. Scenes take on a feeling of real time not 'reel time'. Directed by supremely talented Ray McKinnon, produced by McKinnon and Lisa Blount who completely possesses the title role, this film is a haunting look at what happens to people who will not and in fact, cannot put their overwhelming and powerful feelings into words. Someone once said, "There are rooms of experience that you and I will never enter." Well, that may be true in most cases, but McKinnon and his cast take you into one of these rooms and leave you there long enough so that you won't soon forget it. Balanced skillfully between moments that will make you twist and turn in your seat and moments of unexpected levity, this dark, Gothic Southern tale of loss leads to a strange kind of redemption. It will raise questions long after you leave the cinema. And how many movies these days do that? Don't miss it. It's a jewel.

Life is hard. Love is simple. It's the tag line of the movie and it is the only expectation that you should have when buying the ticket. The extraordinary characters created by writer/director Ray McKinnon and his magnificent cast, show us that sometimes the simple life isn't always as safe as it sounds. Chrystal, played by McKinnon's refreshingly talented wife, Lisa Blount, gives us a roller-coaster ride of emotions and anxiety while she does her best to deal with the "pain" of her life and hold on to the man she loves. Having grown up in the Ozark mountains myself I may be a little biased in saying that the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Ray did a great job of showcasing the rolling hills and majestic views that can only be found in that little known part of the world. This film is loaded with everything that makes a movie worth watching. From solid performances by headline actors like Billy Bob Thorton, to a deep bench of fresh new talent waiting to explode in the business, such as Colin Fickes(Hog) and Max Kasch(Shorty). Ray McKinnon also steps out from behind the camera to give a downright entertaining show as "Snake", a white trash wanna be drug lord of the holler.

For me it's a movie that was more than worth the ticket price. It was a trip home to see some old friends. I'm sure those same friends will raise hell about being shown as simpletons and hillbillies, but sometimes we are. But along with that we are the most real of any people I know and the Ginney Mule team shows that with this movie called "Chrystal."