Far Too Far

Loved this movie. Not sugar coated. It is the kind of movie that you can actually walk away hating a character, for me that means it has moved me, touched me in some way. So much so that I could not sleep for thinking about it. Such an important movie with a message that needs to be conveyed in a manner that is hard hitting and honest. Some films dealing with this criteria kind of make light of the subject, make it seem like it is a great time. When in reality it is anything but a great time! Those films do not show you the truth. This film is raw in truth it is powerful in its message. I am glad I had the opportunity to see it. It has definitely left an impression on me. Justin Hunt, thank you for "going there".

Far out! 2015 seems to be the year of the "Far" movies. "Far Cry", "Far From the Madding Crowd", "Far Off", "Far Out Far In", "Far Piece", "Everything is Beautiful Far Away", "Far Western", "How Far", "Into a Far Country", "Near and Far", and then, just plain old "Far" – all listed as 2015 releases. Then, of course, we could also include a little December movie that promises to take us back to "a galaxy far, far away". Lastly, not to be outdone, is the movie that thinks the word "far" is so nice, they used it twice – "Far Too Far" (NR, 1:57).

Linda (Brandi Wethington) is a single mom who is working as a waitress in a diner and a cashier in a convenience store to support herself and her 9-year-old daughter, who she calls Bug (Abbey Hunt). As busy as she is, Linda basically has only two friends: Mrs. Tufly (Joanne Hammes), the nice old lady in the apartment across the hall who watches Bug when Linda is at work, and Connie (Marcella Hower), another waitress at the diner. Connie tells Linda that she has to get out of the apartment and have some fun, so she insists that Linda come with her to a house party and comes to pick her up, babysitter in tow. Linda is uncomfortable at the party, but Connie drags her to more parties at the same house. The reason that there are so many parties at this particular house is that there's a drug dealer named Trip (Rick Martinez) "working" out of the garage.

Trip gets Linda to try some marijuana, and it's all downhill from there. Like any self-respecting drug dealer, Trip knows how to get Linda hooked. He uses the pot as a gateway drug and then gives Linda some free samples of methamphetamine. Linda very quickly finds herself on the slippery slope of habitual drug use. She starts snorting meth, shooting it up and smoking it. She starts missing work, either to sleep off her latest high or to run off with her new "friends" and get high all over again. Linda is also neglecting Bug – and not taking care of herself very well either. Her appearance becomes haggard; she's jittery and irritable and even starts verbally abusing those around her. We see the changes in Linda reflected in the eyes of Mrs. Tufly and Ben (Ben Nolte), a nice guy who she met at that first party and then runs into a few months later in a convenience store.

As Linda's life goes from bad to worse, we see another story unfold, that of social worker Jim Burgess (Chris Overson) and his co-worker, Samantha (Tylor Gray). Jim's job has taken such a toll on him over the years that he has trouble sleeping, but he still cares deeply about helping people. His loving, forgiving approach to people is very different from the idealistic and hot-tempered Samantha, who Jim is trying to mentor. As Jim and Samantha work their way through their case load, it's obvious that they're going to cross paths with Linda sooner or later. Speeding her towards that fateful meeting is Luci (Brad Monclova), the man who Linda starts seeing. We see them have sex, but the real focus of the relationship is the meth that Luci and his business partner, Bigwig (Daniel Cabrera) can help her get. When Luci begins demanding more from Linda for the drugs he's supplying her, she's forced into a heart wrenching situation from which there may be no coming back.

"Far Too Far" shows the hard truths of what drug addiction does to individuals and families, but it doesn't do it very well. Most of the movie is poorly shot, poorly acted, poorly written and just plain boring. The story, and overall quality of the film, both pick up significantly towards its powerful and surprising ending, but to get there you have to sit through actors doing their first film (and it shows), dialog that often doesn't sound like real people talk, characters' actions that don't make sense and cinematography and music that has the feel of a 1970s after school special.

The film editing is good (especially toward the end), but this movie would have benefited greatly from a better edited script and editing out about 20 minutes from the film itself. This is writer/director Justin Hunt's first fully-scripted feature film after several documentaries, some of which dealt with the destructive effects of meth. Hunt definitely seems well-intentioned with this film, but his inexperience (and that of his cast and crew) distract badly from what is a good story and an excellent third act. All things considered, "Far Too Far" is not only a good title for this film, but a good description of my drive to see it. "C-"

Justin contacted me to be a guest on this film and urged me to meet him in a hotel alone to discuss this topic. He claimed I am the age of his daughter and that it wasn't inappropriate, but then he started talking about making me comfortable if I would just get in the room with him because he even got serial killers comfortable with him. When I expressed my discomfort, he claimed I was disgraceful for questioning his integrity and I had no right to do so because I was only his daughters age and he was more experienced in years on the planet, giving him the right to speak and work the way he wanted. He started texting one of my friends too and we both had to block him. I am disturbed by what this man is planning next and hope he isn't given any more power to work with people in sensitive situations, which he disturbingly seems to enjoy.

Excellent movie, but I had to watch it twice. The first time I went to see Far Too Far, I left before the movie ended. There is a pivotal scene near the end, and I was sooo angry at Linda and Luci. I left the theater and went home. My husband asked me how the movie was and I was telling him that I couldn't finish watching it and what the story was about. He said "It must be a good movie to have gotten to you that way. I think I'd like to see it." Turns out, that the movie played again the following weekend, so we both went to see it. We got to the same point in the movie, and we were both crying. I realized that I had my nails dug into the palms of my hands from clenching them into fists.

The ending was a surprise. I didn't expect it at all, but it left me feeling better about how the story ends and maybe more positive about people.

I wasn't going to try to write a review, but the whole thing is still in my head. I keep seeing parts of it and wondering about how the characters are, what they are doing, etc. like they are real people, lol, even though I've seen some of the actors around town and know that everything on the screen was just a movie. It's hard to separate the two.

I hope everyone has a chance to see this.

On the surface, Far Too Far is a film about the downward spiral of meth addiction. Justin Hunt pulls no punches on the subject- the story is raw, gritty and real. But the challenge in this, is somehow finding the true story which is one of hope and redemption. All the best films are, at their core, love stories. That is exactly what Far Too Far is.

The film does an incredible job taking us into the life of a hard working, single mom "Linda" portrayed by Brandi Wethington and her young daughter "Bug" (Abbey Hunt). It's a story most parents can identify with, the everyday joys and challenges of raising a child. The selflessness, the tiredness. And that's where things start to slip.

If at all possible, avoid spoilers on this movie. The sharp twists are integral to the impact of the story. The plot is played out in past and present, through the eyes of Linda and social worker, "Jim Burgess" (Chris Overson), and what begins as simply a story about the devastation meth leaves in its path, becomes a story about people. About hope. Forgiveness.