6 Dynamic Laws for Success (in Life, Love & Money)

Because we seemingly always must compare one thing to another thing, there's an evocative slab of Joel and Ethan Coen upon which "6 Dynamic Laws For Success (In Life, Love & Money)" might arguably be built. But throughout its 90 minutes, this mostly black and white comedy crime film acquits itself as its own delightfully unique thing.

Ulysses T. Lovin (Travis Swartz) takes the audience on a treasure hunt in which the desired destination is a 2.4 million dollar jackpot in the form of a concealed-somewhere bank heist. Ulysses is no poster boy for success in life, yet he sees the cash stash as a chance to reclaim himself.

The film's creative team shows a certain fearlessness in the unique stamp that "6 Dynamic Laws..." carries with it, both in its visual presentation and in the playful nut-job fun it consistently offers throughout. The harder a movie is to define in clear and certain terms, the more it paradoxically begs for comparables so that we can box in into a corner and feel proud of ourselves when we manage to assign it a properly relatable definition. But ultimately, "6 Dynamic Laws..." triumphs because it does indeed pass muster as a specifically executed vision of its very own making.

This movie is a gem, because it's different in a Tarantinoesque or Ethan Bros stylistic way. In B/W with flashbacks in color. It has a bit of a low-budget feel, which actually provides some character that works for it. Good casting.

A very clever story, like a Fargo. A "loser" trying to find a pot of money the location of which is encoded within a self-help book. So, the story progresses on a multiple story-lines. Finding the money requires that he improve himself along the way.

Then, apart from flashbacks, there are two story time tracks, one being current time, and the other being the prologue where we learn how we got to current, working toward intersection.

There are subtle nice touches, like the piano notes music that fits the movie tone extremely well. And, eg, a scene where two women are in a car with the camera facing them through the windshield, which is cracked, just to keep the subconscious edge.

Overall, a different quirky story that is creative and interesting, and it does a great job executing the movie it intended to be.

One of the things I love about independent film is that it allows artists to experiment and explore the medium of filmmaking. This movie does that incredibly well. It was really cool specifically because the movie was very much a noir movie, classically high contrast and black and white, and then to go to the semi non-noir sections, that became color. It's this kind if specific and unusual choice that shows me I'm watching the work of an artist, not simply a technician.

I ran across this movie looking for something fun to watch on a Friday night and this film was both a delight and a surprise. There isn't much information about the movie so I went in with very little expectations. The quality of the storytelling and the superb acting make this film stand out.

Ulysses T. Lovin (played splendidly by Travis Swartz), a self-described loser, has his evening interrupted by a stranger who promises an incredible opportunity if he can just have some of Lovin's time. Indecisive Lovin leaves the door open a crack both figuratively and literally and the stranger pushes his way into Lovin's home. At the kitchen table, the stranger, Milton Montgomery (Ross Partridge) explains that a 2 million dollar (or is it 2.4 million dollars?) cache of money is hidden somewhere in Lovin's house which he'll split with him if they can look for the treasure together. Lovin heartily agrees, signs a semi-formal contract (handwritten with four simple agreements), and off they go. Except Montgomery's promise isn't exactly on the up and up and Lovin finds himself in the role of sleuth with flirty Lizzy Duffrey (Lisa King Hawkes) and her down-to-earth sister Sue (Sara Lynch) after the same prize.

As it turns out, the money was stolen by a relative of Montgomery's and his partner, the lovely Norma Seville (Jennifer Lafleur). Through Milton's description and flashbacks, we learn that Seville left clues as to where she buried the treasure in a self-help book called "6 Dynamic Laws for Success (in Life, Love & Money)" which was in Milton's possession when he meets Lovin. (While there is no such book in real life, we do learn all 6 laws over the course of the movie and they sound authentically written.) Seville runs into young Nicholas (played spot-on by Bennett Huhn) who, she hopes, will play her younger brother to help her get over state lines undetected. Those events of the past have implications for what Lovin and the sisters encounter in the present day so we're not left guessing in the end how and why things end up the way they do.

Swartz plays Lovin as a lovable, buffoon who stumbles his way through the investigation sometimes hitting on key clues by accident and other times shooting innocent bystanders because he's never handled a gun before. Partridge, Hawkes, and Lynch play their parts with energy and a wink-and-a-smile playfulness bringing the viewer into the game with them. The movie seems like it shouldn't be working--it's too low budget and the actors seem like they're somebody's (very talented) brother or sister-in-law who had too much to drink one evening and were talked into being in a movie. It reminded me of the first time I watched Napoleon Dynamite--I was continually asking myself, "What am I watching?" while loving every minute of it.

The pseudo film noir cinematography and screenplay actually work in this movie (it's shot in black and white) because it doesn't take itself too seriously and doesn't try too hard. It plays to the noir elements in just the right amount at just the right times. Some reviews compare the filmmaking to something you'd see in a Soderberg caper or a Cohen brothers film. Those elements definitely are there (think early Cohen brothers particularly) but make no mistake: Gregory Bayne has a unique style and isn't after mere mimicry. There were enough one-liners and quirky expressions to have me laughing out loud at times but a story that solid enough to keep me engaged throughout.

This is a gem. I hope to see much more by Bayne and each of the principle actors. Together they created something fun, unique, and engaging without a ton of money or big-name actors. This is very rare in todays environment.

Great story with a great mixture of rather quirky characters leads to flawless entertainment. This movie is at the top of the Indie heap along with any other movie heap.