Man Goes on Rant

Genuinely, GENUINELY blown away after seeing Peter Curtis Pardini's Man Goes On Rant tonight at Austin Film Society. Starring Brian Villalobos in a tour-de-force performance I can't even begin to wrap my head around.

A legit work of art from top to bottom. Singular in it's vision. Grand in it's ambition. And beyond scope in its humanity. It is a pitch-perfect film in almost every single way, and as far as I'm concerned, it is the de facto movie about the pandemic even though it's so, so, SO much more than that.

This is going to sound like hyperbole, but I'm being 100% honest when I say watching this movie was what it must've been like to watch Easy Rider back in the 70s. It just so completely nails what it's like to live in this current era. The anxiety. The confusion. The isolation. And despite being such a raw nerve of a film, it's also filled with a deep well of empathy and heart.

Congratulations to Peter, Brian, Akasha Villalobos and everyone else involved in the making of this movie. It's a huge achievement and I cannot wait to see what happens with it. Because SOMETHING is going to happen with it. It's just too good to ignore.

An amazing work.

Man Goes on Rant might be the only new film, endeavoring to portray the impossibility of reason in the dissonance of contemporary culture. The performances are breathtakingly real and there's something so insightful going on here. This film, whether intentional or not, has flares of Chayefsky and like "Network" is very much a rant - as the title suggests. It's a rant for 2024, no less poignant and monolithic in its scope. It's a film that if the filmmaker never makes another is still a powerful piece of art for the ages. Let's hope that's not the case because there's a shortage of gutsy filmmakers out there who want to cater to the last adults left standing. And it's funny too.

Wow.

It's rare that a film comes along that you can say is truly unique, original, visionary. MAN GOES ON RANT doesn't allow itself to easily be categorized - it's a high-energy, anxiety-filled, dread-inducing cathartic drama/horror/comedy/satire fever dream. I've never been this stressed out while laughing my ass off.

Writer/Director/Producer Peter Curtis Pardini starts his movie with his foot on the gas and never lets up, guiding us across the past several decades of American history through the perspective of a manic, paranoid conspiracy theorist. Utilizing a relentless score and nonstop editing - both roles that Peter also nailed - we're put directly into the shoes of someone that most of us would typically judge and write off. However, there's an undercurrent of sadness and raw emotional honesty that allows us to connect with and sympathize for the titular Man, brilliantly brought to life by Brian Villalobos.

This could've been a one-note character, a role based on judgment and stereotypes. But Brian offers us a window into a hurt, vulnerable man flailing and spiraling through life, yearning for purpose and human connection. Through his portrayal of anxiety, confusion, loneliness, doubt, and fear, we see ourselves. We understand and we laugh and we cry and we grapple with every emotion that's been buried and building inside of us with no place to escape except in a tortured scream into the void, hoping that someone somewhere cares and that all of this matters.

This is an absolute emotional roller coaster of differing tones and genres, rocketing us through an epic-scale story of humankind by focusing on the small-scale story of one single human. And sometimes, when it all seems like too much, a movie like this can come along and remind us that we're not alone and it will all be ok.

Words fail me. But here goes. This is the first movie in decades that I watched, then immediately had to watch again. And discuss it with those around me.

And discuss it I did. And if my fellow conversationalists hadn't seen it yet, I waited patiently for them to watch. And I discovered they, too, wanted to talk about it. And tear it apart to get to the meaty, juicy parts. Everyone brought different perspectives and opinions. After we laughed a lot, and maybe shed a few tears, we all concluded this is the best film we've seen in years.

Before I end this, the music, provided by 4 current members of the legendary rock band Chicago, was phenomenal. That first blast of the trumpet was easily identifiable as Lee Lochnane. Add to that the saxaphone of Ray Hermann and the drums/percussion of Walfredo de los Reyes and Ramon Yslas and you have the perfect musical tapestry, woven expertly throughout the story.

Do yourself a favor man, and go on a rant. You'll be glad you did.

Caught this at a film festival, went in completely blind and so thankful that I decided to take a seat! This film is honestly, one of the most unique roller coaster rides of a movie that I can remember experiencing in recent years.

It's a ticking time bomb comedy where the wick burns slow through its opening scene of table-setting but soon after douses that wick in lighter fluid for a frenetic, hilariously emotional springboard through different periods of time and the major events that defines them (and us).

The editing alone is a sight to be seen. I honestly can't wrap my head around how the filmmaker was able to even fathom the ability to pull the strings and keep the plates spinning in such an intriguing, relentless fashion without going crazy (who knows, maybe he did?!)

I can't even imagine what the screenplay was like or how it was written to even pull off the structure of weaving its plot with countless archival footage in a way that hits *hard* and emotionally resonated with me.

The performances were all exceptional but the lead, Brian Villalobos, is MASTERFUL. This guy puts the movie on his back and hikes the Appalachian Mountains with his dynamic delivery of the material.

But most importantly, the ending had the rug pulled out from underneath me with a punch to the gut that left me in tears.

I laughed. Then I laughed so hard I was crying. Then I was just flat out sobbing.

It's a beautifully kinetic journey that blurs the line of narrative and documentary and I've been sitting on pins and needles for it to get released so I can show it off to friends.

If the opportunity to watch this ever arises, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DO IT.