Good Neighbours

There is the story and there is the characters. And let me tell you, it must be the first time, weirdness has been depicted in such a funny and intriguing and honest way. I loved all those characters, who while seems similar had different agendas. I can tell you that although I was appalled by the female lead, I also was in love with her.

Quirkiness and mayhem, you can find everything that you won't find in a big budget movie. Exceptionally cast and smartly played (Scott Speedman almost playing against type) this was one of my highlights of last year. Of course this will not appeal to everyone, being about people who essentially are anything but normal. But if you have a heart for good independent movies and like your story to not be predictable (safe one obvious twist maybe), you will cherish and love this one as I do/did!

It's the story of three strange friendships, with a serial killer lurking in the background. Lives of the three single people, two guys and a gal, all under age 30, become intertwined over a five-month period as a result of living in close proximity in a Montreal apartment building. The film is less a whodunit than a play of mind games, as unlikely events collide, to force the three to question each others motives, then plot ways to a self-interested outcome.

The three characters are mildly interesting, though the Victor character is so neurotic, and dense to others' cues, he quickly becomes grating. I see that as a script problem. There are also a couple of significant plot holes. And the ending I find less than satisfying, as it leaves viewers wondering, and questions unanswered.

Casting is acceptable. Acting is fine given the subdued story line. Visuals trend a bit dark. Most of the plot is set indoors. "Good Neighbors" is a low-budget film, and uses a minimal cast and minimal sets. Overall, the film has a pleasantly European look and feel, with interspersed French dialogue, Canadian accents, musty interiors, and cold climate exteriors.

If you're looking for a whodunit, or an extravagant production, or a film of great thematic depth, look elsewhere. Notwithstanding weakness previously described, "Good Neighbors" excels at character drama, with a touch of low-key quirkiness; a cozy, intimate little film worth a one-time watch on a cold winter night.

I saw this film recently partly based on the other review above. I did not agree with the general thrust of that review and so I've contributed one based on my own impressions. As a whodunit the culprit was fairly obvious taking away any possibility of plot tension. The general lack of action, drama (or blood) was actually disappointing.

The film did not hit any low notes to be fair and was watchable enough but it failed to hit any high ones (for me) either.It was well professionally acted and with workmanlike direction, the scenes were well shot including the slightly unpleasant one alluded to in the previous review but the only emotional connect I felt with the film was some twinges of embarrassment at a couple of points. Sunday evening filler.

Article first published as Movie Review: Good Neighbors on Blogcritics. 'http://blogcritics.org/video/article/movie-review-good-neighbors/'

Take three freaky characters with tenuous grips on reality and stick them into an aging apartment building in a rundown neighborhood of Montreal and what do you have? Good Neighbors. You also have a film noir mystery which rivals anything the Coen brothers (Blood Simple, Fargo, No Country for Old Men) have ever done.

Written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Jacob Tierney, Good Neighbors is based on the 1982 book, Chère Voisine, by Chyrstine Brouillet. Tierney first read the book when he was in high school, and decided to take it to his producer father, Kevin Tierney, with whom he had collaborated on the comedy The Trotsky.

"Jacob told me about this book a long time ago," recalled the elder Tierney, "and I said, Jacob, I really don't want to make a movie about a serial killer. And when we finished shooting on The Trotsky, I sent him a note saying, 'I'll produce any project that you want to make.' And he told me: 'this is the one.'" The producer overcame his initial reluctance upon reading the novel. "I actually found it way funnier and way more diabolical than just being a book about a serial killer. Don't get me wrong, it's still a pretty sick little tale – but there's great fun to it in a perverse way."

Good Neighbors stars Jay Baruchel, Scott Speedman, and Emily Hampshire. It also stars three cats, Mozart, Tia Maria and Balthazar who are instrumental in moving the story along.

At first, I was annoyed at not being able to figure out who the protagonist was, but I realized as the film progressed that writer- director Tierney was doing an excellent job of giving us three characters each of whom was strange enough to either be evil or something close to it. In no time, you are suspicious of all of them.

Emily Hampshire plays Louise, a waitress in a Chinese restaurant, whose fear about the possible presence of a serial murderer in the neighborhood comes to dominate her life and the lives of those around her. She has trouble relating to people, and is the creepiest cat lover in film history.

Louise communicates her fears to her neighbor, Spenser, a disabled housebound man played by Scott Speedman. Spenser's lean, swimmer's body seems out-of-place, trapped in a wheel chair on an upper floor of the apartment building. His personality flashes back and forth between a way too friendly smile and a barely controlled rage. But, after all, he lost his wife in an auto accident, or so he says.

A new neighbor, Victor, moves in – played to geeky perfection by Jay Baruchels. Victor is as socially inept as they come, but apparently good at heart. Of course, he does tell his brother that Louise is his fiancée, before he's told her she is.

As the violence escalates on the streets outside, the three of them bond – as much as their flawed psyches allow – in an effort to come to grips with the threat of the serial killer. But, the strangeness doesn't end with the lead characters. Co-workers, policemen and other neighbors all have their quirks, and you'll find yourself being suspicious of nearly everyone at some point, at least until they too become a victim.

The twists and turns come at you rapidly in the third act and I found myself hoping for just one more when things wound down. But that wasn't because I thought anything was missing, I just didn't want the mayhem to end. Good Neighbors - murder, betrayal, cats, a few laughs and lots of blood - is available now on demand. It will open theatrically in New York on July 29 and in Los Angeles on August 5. I'd see it in a theater – being trapped in a dark room full of strangers will add to your enjoyment.

Good Neighbors (2010)

A Canadian indie thriller with spritely charm. Yup! The cast is small, the concept cute and macabre (both), and the filming and editing first rate. This is the latest installment of what is a new genre, mostly American, where a bright, lighthearted tone keeps a relatively serious theme tipped on edge the whole time.

It's almost as if the filmmakers are tired of high drama movies, from true horror films to action adventure to even the moving dramas that win the awards. It's also, though, a product of budget, and making the most of small resources. "Good Neighbors" is in many ways a perfect small movie.

Imagine the most common of situations--a small apartment building where two main characters each have an apartment. One is a disgruntled young woman with two sweet cats, her only real friends. The other is a charming handsome man in a wheelchair, with a cynical and mean interior. Then a newcomer arrives, all sweetness and kindness.

Meanwhile, a serial killer is in the neighborhood, and the woman in particular follows the story for her own self-preservation. Because it's a tightly constructed movie you suspect that one of the three has something to do with the killings, but maybe not, as a fourth apartment dweller makes her viciousness known. This is the turning point, and things get complicated in a funny/tragic way in the last quarter of the film.

As convincing as all these characters are (most of the time), there are few holes here and there. One of them is the series of crimes, and the minimal presence of the police (and rather unconvincing tough detective who looks better than he sounds for the part). In a way we're not supposed to believe or care about the crimes themselves, but in another way, the crimes become, increasingly, the whole movie. Thank goodness for the director that the Montreal police are apparently pretty relaxed about gathering evidence.

Never mind the nitpicking, however. If you like the "indie" feel of movies like "Timer" or even "Juno" (which is better overall), this one will really take you in. It's a "delight" in the best sense of that word.