Niente cambia, tutto cambia

From Canada - the land of great short subjects 'n documentaries but a few too many dismal features - what's in their psyche that produces some of these misguided movies - could it be the cold that numbs their senses?. The opening of this movie looked most intriguing. Photographically it's all class, it has good performances, the music maybe a bit loose but it fitted the story. Looking at the "story" - it seems too many writers and directors want to copy the Cohen Bros - problem is, now that the Cohen Bros have gone commercial and begun copying themselves, it's become tiresome and overdue for a face lift. Are there so few left out there who remember how to tell a strait-quality-story?. It doesn't need to be outlandish just interesting!.

Apart from D.O.P. Daniel Voldheim's quality cinematography (AKF: Into The White '12) the best thing about this film is the fine performance from interesting Russian born Anton Yelchin (Hearts In Atlantis" '01). What a great shame we lost this interesting young man in such a tragic accident - way before his time. Will look forward to seeing his final complete performance in "We Don't Belong Here" '16/17, hoping it may offer a better departure note for Anton. Farewell Chekov.

This story seemed to be heading down an OK path till it wanders off the trail, then ends up stumbling over itself. It's yet another stylish looking movie in search of better overall treatment and script. The cultists will excuse its sometimes pretentious pseudo "psychology" along with the usual bunch of foul-mouthed-bad-ass low lifers but, anyone looking for depth could find themselves being led into a dismal driftless bog.

I compare this movie to Fargo tv series because both have a similar premise, of an innocent man/couple caught up in local level organised crime. That aspect of the movie is very clever. It's very indie though, with lots of folksy modern tunes underpinning the rather laconic action sequences and drama. It's also a rather cool and careful love affair, and even one of the criminals has a bit of a similar affair, underlining what looks like an intended irony. As such it's intelligently put together, a well-written script and story inspired by a novel. If you look to the special features 'making of' on the dvd, you'll see various cast and crew struggling with how to describe it. Noir is mentioned a couple of times. Perhaps that's worth noting, as this is a sufficiently unusual piece to hold some pride in itself. I'd describe it as picturesque, and that would apply to the careful (but not sweeping) cinematography as well. There's an important spiritual side, which could have been treated with a little less slap dash. To explain, certain ideas are presented as fait accompli, and, to my mind, should have been given more spooky for the audience to willingly run with it. Granted though, don't turn to this one if looking for an action film to thrill. Look to it if you like young love, good writing and interesting character study. Great actors here, and well worth a look on a Saturday afternoon.

This film tells the story of a young man who is in love with a victim of arson. He finds a bag of cash, and his life becomes complicated because the crooks who own the cash come after him in the quiet small town.

The plot summary sounds interesting on paper, but unfortunately the film is not at all interesting. It feels like a bunch of incomplete jigsaw pieces being forced together. I don't quite care for any of the characters, even Zooey Deschanel's character who is a victim of arson. There's no thrill suspense even when crooks hunt Pierre down. Events in the film are muted, and the film is pretty uneventful and non happening. There's no connection between the characters themselves or with the viewers. What is the point of the story? I find it boring and forgettable.

This movie is a bit hard to explain, as it often jump back and forwards in time and tbh even after finishing it I think many (including myself) will struggle a bit to figure out what the movie was actually about.

But sometimes the destination is not what's important but the journey there is as they say, and the movie for the more-part entertains with mostly quirky abstract dialogue that could only exist in a movie (or a novel of which this movie is based on), often with a very dry sense of humor.

The first half is pretty stellar, the second half halters a bit gets a bit uneven and there are a lot of loose ties that remain untied even after the credits start rolling.

But it was still worth watching and it's nice to see Zoeey Deschanel in something new and the rest of the cast does fine as well.

Why this title? It is the location, the Driftless Area is a region in the upper American Midwest that escaped the flattening effects of glaciation during the last ice age and is consequently characterized by steep, forested ridges, deeply carved river valleys, and geology characterized by spring-fed waterfalls and cold-water trout streams. But it was filmed in Canada.

The story is not as easy to explain, it involves a young man, a bartender, attempting to grasp the meaning of space and time and possible parallel universes. Then there is the young lady who accidentally gets burned up in an arson fire. But she walks away nude past the oncoming firefighters. Then there's the robbery, the truck crash, the search to find and recover the loot.

It really has an all-star cast, the story bits are woven together very well in an interesting and often funny manner. I find the movie to be a bit better than its IMDb rating suggests. Young Yelchin met an untimely accidental death not too long after this movie.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.