dramateacherworship

King of Herrings is a wonderful film. It speaks to a way of life in New Orleans, to anyone who has lived with the same group of people for many years only to find you don't like them all, to anyone who has hoped for rescue only to find that they must rescue themselves.

When you look into the world of King of Herrings, you see characters that have fallen into painful rhythms, hurtful, manipulative relationships, and petty oneupmanship. And yet some of these beautifully rendered characters still strive to reach beyond the limits of their day to day existence and make good on their dreams.

The characters are each brought to life in performances that are visceral and truthful. Some content with their way of life an others hoping for a change that will make their life somehow better. The story follows the characters as they go about their lives over several days, and through events and interactions that will impact their lives going forward.

The actors have been friends for more that twenty years, and their on-screen chemistry comes from a genuine friendship and rapport. This charm is evident from the first frame and through to the end.

It is the winner of the Audience Favorite Narrative Film at the New Orleans Film Festival, and I was fortunate to have seen it there. I have to recommend this film to anyone who loves film.

I watched this film with a particular perspective on the subject and I have to admit I very much liked the treatment of the story. One viewer comments that this film is supposed to be a true story. I can say that it absolutely is true. The young man in the story is my first cousin and his family is my family. The setting was changed, but the events were actually very faithfully represented. I will commend Ms. Lucci for not playing the character as a parody, but playing the role with as much depth as she did. It might otherwise have cheapened the struggles that family had faced prior to, during, and after those terrible events.