Nonames

...and it SUCKED. I think they must have filmed a 20 hour movie that they cut into two hours. It was nothing but endless non-sequiturs. It was clear that we were missing so, so, so much back story.

Not even the brilliant Barry Corbin could save this truly terrible flick.

The story centers around a group of friends, basically losers, who all have stupid drama in their lives that we are given no reason to care about. It jumps from one awful thing to another and NOTHING IS EVER EXPLAINED. The characters are empty, boring and depressing as hell. The only part of this movie that me, or any of the people with me, liked was the fact that it finally ended.

It is the feel-bad movie of the year. Don't bother.

When I was twelve, the children of Chillicothe, Illinois participated in a project at our local library. We were to each interview a local business owner and write a brief essay on their role in the community, which would later be compiled into a book available on the counter-tops of every coffee shop and thrift store in town. I was assigned to interview a resident of the local nursing home, a feisty elderly woman named Mary Ellen. During the interview, we talked about the good old days, about drive ins and rumble seats, about the days when Chillicothe was still the picturesque Midwestern small town we still like to imagine it is. "The young folks just don't stay anymore," said Mary Ellen sadly, "But I don't blame them, they get offered jobs somewhere else and they up and take off. It just isn't how it used to be."

The film "Nonames" is about a man living a life that is just not how it used to be. Kevin's (James Badge Dale) mother died when he was nine. He began smoking and hanging out with the local bad boys even before her funeral was over. Years later, his family, balking under the withering effects of the absence of their maternal bedrock, decides to pack up and start anew in the big city. Kevin stays behind. As time progresses, with no family and no shortage of booze and drugs, Kevin is a rebel without a cause. His days are spent in the bar with his buddies or stirring up trouble at the town's Fourth of July celebration, in a scene that anybody from a small town would be familiar with. The film is set in the fictional town of Dexter, Wisconsin. Even if the name isn't familiar, the abundance of plaid flannel and beer guts are a definite nod to Wisconsin's indigenous barflies.

Life in Dexter is set in neutral. Motivation is looking forward to a game of pool and a beer (or two or three) at the end of the day. The obvious choice for anyone who has any ambition is departure. The shortage of progressive thinkers has left the town stuck in time. The old-folks are content with this lifestyle, but for the adrenaline-filled under thirties, it's a matter of survival of the fittest. Grudges stick, and the convenience of knowing the local police chief by name is constantly put into play.

Everybody tells Kevin that he will never amount to anything if he stays in Dexter, but he is hell-bent on proving them wrong. After receiving a sum of money from his mother's death, which quickly materializes into a sports car and a sprawling white house, Kevin and his girlfriend CJ (Gillian Jacobs) briefly taste an idealized happiness that is not to last. Progression is as essential to humans as breathing and when we try to halt it, we run the risk of self-destruction. The image of small town America, of eating the world's best pie at a family-style diner, and sitting on a wraparound porch watching the world go by as an unruly rose of Sharon tickles our hair is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Golden arches are replacing hand-painted restaurant signs and you will likely be met with a blank stare if you try to tell a twelve year old kid about sitting in the rumble seat at the drive in.

Kevin's story is based on the true story of director Kathy Lindboe's brother, but it is also the story of losing yourself while trying to hold on to something that is no longer there. I myself was born in a small Wisconsin town, home to an opera house turned movie theater where I attended a screening of "Nonames." As I write this in the local ice cream shop, I watch the townsfolk troop by in a parade of camouflage baseball caps and, of course, plaid flannel. I look at them and wonder just how many "Kevins" there are out there; waiting for something more, wanting to get at it, and wondering just what "it" is.

The saying "grow where you are planted" comes to mind, but deprived of nourishment, even the toughest plant will wither and die. Mary Ellen had a point, why should the "young folk" stay where they cannot grow, when all the doors in the world are open for them? It takes a great deal of bravery to say goodbye to the things we hold most dear, but it takes even more to create a better world right where you are planted, and even if we don't survive, we can at least say we tried.

Kevin and CJ, the main characters of "Nonames", have been together for a long time, especially for their 20-something years. They are as committed to each other as they are to the crumbling Wisconsin mill town in which they live. The Mill is letting people go, other businesses tumble, and people leave for other opportunities. Kevin and CJ stay for each other, and also stay for their like-minded friends. Their rowdy crowd drinks, smokes, and cavorts as though they are about to be hacked to death in a slasher film.

Sound depressing. It is. It's also, from what I've observed, not too different from what has been happening throughout small towns all over our heartland for the last three years (and counting). When times are tough, survivors learn to lean on one-another. The characters that surround CJ and Kevin, aren't ever as completely developed as our young lovers (with a few exceptions to be noted later) but friendship and affection aren't always based on shared intimacies. Indeed, in "Nonames" comraderie seems to be based on a mutual desire to escape reality rather than share or explore a deep awareness of self or community.

The production values in this film are solid and serve the narrative action from beginning to end. Cinematography was pretty straight forward without many tricks--clean and effective. I enjoyed the soundtrack and continued to root for CJ and Kevin throughout the film. I could tell that this project was deeply personal for writer and director Kathy Linboe. It must be difficult to edit a film that signifies real events and documents one's memory of a particular place and time. Still, overall, the film is largely satisfying even though I might have trimmed-off a good ten minutes or so. There were some confusing transitions and unclear connections that could be better explained. I hated one particular speech that reminded me of Richard Gere's "I got nowhere to go . . ." monologue in another movie.

Gillian Jacobs and James Badge Dale do not disappoint as our star-crossed lovers struggling against the odds to make something of their life in tandem. Their scenes together are alternately sweet, frustrating, or disturbing. Barry Corbin is right at home is this film as not just a potential employer, but also as a part of the hard scrabble community. His Ed does the best he can to help-out the young men in his community. Peter McCain does a nice job as Dave, a young dad and bartender who seems to be more stable than his friends. Jack, portrayed by Allen Hamilton, is also a small but powerful role.

I admire many things about "Nonames", and appreciate its dark portrait of deteriorating rural communities. The film celebrates loyalty and friendship no matter how big your opponent is, or how stupid your friends might be. It also reminds us of the lingering power of place and how it continues to inform and influence character for the rest of one's life.

I see a lot of indie films. I go to many film festivals. I happened to catch a screening of NoNAMES at the Newport Beach Film Fest and didn't expect much, I have to admit. I didn't recognize anyone in the cast and there wasn't a long line waiting to get in the screening. I had a few hours before my next film and thought what the heck.

It's moments like these that remind me why I love going to see indie films. NoNAMES completely took me off guard by its authenticity, professionalism and relevance to our world right now. Not the most uplifting films but its honest, a rare bird these days.

I'm used to low production values and mediocre to poor acting in indie films and feel programmed to wince in watching or tolerating amateur production companies put together barely watchable work. But even though my expectations were low, make no mistake that this impressive work by a first time writer/director and producers is on the same level than more of the films I caught at Sundance and Toronto combined this year and many Hollywood films made every year. I don't know why NoNAMES was not on the bigger festival rosters but it looks like a quite a few great regional festivals were smart enough to program it. It deservedly won Best Ensemble Acting, Best Actor for Gillian Jacobs (CJ) and Best Director Kathy Lindboe at the Phoenix Film Festival as well as being nominated in these categories at this year's Method Fest along with James Badge Dale who plays Kevin.

The other reviews are apt in that it may be a few minutes too long but not because the material isn't good enough or that the moments assembled as the final cut are not valid - it just would have made a more perfect film. I really wanted more development in some of the interesting ensemble roles too but appreciated that they were the background to this small town story. It lends itself to a mini-series that HBO or the likes might be smart enough to look at.

Regardless, Gillian Jacobs and James Badge Dale are shining stars and I hope to see them nominated for at the very least, the Independent Spirit Awards this year along with the whole extremely talented new ensemble cast and Kathy Lindboe, a great new writer/director talent that is definitely one to watch.

This film resonated with me long after the credits rolled. I wanted to stay and talk to the cast and filmmakers that attended the screening but was honestly a bit choked up to manage any intelligent thoughts at the time.

I wish I had the power to help distribute this indie gem. I see on their website they have opened in theaters in WI and I bet that strategy will be a sleeper success for them. It should really hit home with Midwest audiences but I think there's a much bigger appeal too.

To the NoNAMES team - congratulations and thank you for making a very moving and unforgettable film. So far this year, it's top on my list of all films to see besides Blue Valentine. Studios, Distributors and Film Festival Programmers, if you are reading this, do not pass this distribution opportunity by. NoNAMES has all of the heart that audiences desire and deserve to see.