South Mountain

Lila thought that she and edgar (talia balsam and scott cohen) had the perfect life living in the country. When lila learns that edgar's other girlfriend is having a baby by him, her world is turned upside down. Takes things to the extreme. But they still like each other. Kind of. Great chemistry between lila and edgar, in spite of what has occurred between them. In spite of edgar's weaknesses. Female nudity in the sauna. It's a little spacey... ethereal. Lots of woodsy, nature scenes. Sadly, no locations listed yet. It's an interesting story. On the roku streaming channel. Written and directed by hilary brougher. This has the feel of being someone's actual story. Talia balsam is the daughter of marty balsam; he was in so many huge films. Talia was married to clooney and john slattery. Interesting hollywood backstory. I liked it. Good stuff.

I initially thought this was about poor white trash people living a somewhat sub-standard existence in the Catskills. -But as I moved into the storyline? It had some sharp turns from the friend/neighbor with illness, to the lesbian daughter and of course, the plot of a man whose seems to be a repeated wife cheater. It seemed most plausible since the story initiated with us meeting the "Mrs" who looked like a bonafide hag and clearly, had a low opinion of herself or she wouldn't allow herself to look incredibly slovenly, "artist" or not (one wonders if she even brushed her teeth!) I thought the acting of our mainline couple was okay but nothing stellar. The story was an old one but a totally clumsy one in that the husband's cheating was less than a surprise and he "went for" one very "plain-jane-dame", which leads us to realize it was more than just sex that he was interested in, yet uninterested in "fixing" his marriage. The plot was a little slow to unfold for me and I wanted to speed it up. The wife taking up with the young "boyfriend"? Well really now; vengeful and tacky. -So while the story was convincing, its appalling to see people not only live, dress and act so sloppily, but with an attitude of cavalierness in a very real sense under the circumstances, that this is an "everyday" happenstance.

Greetings again from the darkness. The grill is fired up and the beer is cold. Friends and family are gathered in the Catskills. Everything seems pretty normal until writer Edgar (Scott Cohen) sneaks off to take a "work" call in the privacy of a back room. We see the reality of his FaceTime call with his mistress Gemma (Isis Massoud), who is in full baby delivery mode. Edgar talks her through it as the midwife does her thing. The delivery and baby are so realistic that I'm fairly certain writer-director Hilary Brougher has included actual footage.

Talia Balsam stars as Edgar's wife Lila, an artist and teacher. There is a sadness connected to Lila, and it hovers like a curse. Her initial reaction to being told that Edgar is leaving her for a new life is little more than resignation to her own life where she seems to regularly get the short end. Edgar and Lila have a teenage daughter Dara (Naian Gonzalez Norvind), and daughter Sam (Macaulee Cassady) from Edgar's first marriage. We learn that Talia has previously endured Edgar's wanderings, though not always gracefully. She also wonders why people are constantly leaving her - a fact of life as kids grow older.

Filmmaker Brougher counts off the days in the corner of the screen for us, and it's helpful as time jumps a bit ... although most days seem eerily similar even after Edgar leaves (he's still around a lot). This plays out like a passive-aggressive break-up, save for one unpredictable lash-out from Lila - one that is likely a frequent fantasy of wronged spouses. Lila's close friend Gigi has breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy, and her son Jake (Guthrie Mass) and daughter Charlotte (Violet Rea) add to the teenage angst we see from Dara and Sam. Sam's friend Jonah (Michael Oberholtzer) has a key role as well - one that starts with sharing a sauna with Lila, and ends where you would imagine.

There is no shortage of movies or real life stories of middle-aged men starting over and "women of a certain age" are left to figure things out. Ties of a long-term marriage run deep and aren't easily or cleanly severed; and kids, regardless of age, don't always understand how to be supportive. Cinematographer Ethan Mass (husband to Ms. Brougher) does a terrific job with the visual landscape, as the claustrophobia of the house gives way to the stunning beauty of nature. The acting is superb throughout, and Ms. Balsam (daughter of Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten) excels in a rare leading role. If only the material were a bit more complex, she could be in awards consideration. Unfortunately, the restrained storytelling prevents us from connecting to Lila, despite the best efforts of Ms. Balsam. It's clear Hilary Brougher is a filmmaker with talent, but the message that life goes on, no matter the inconveniences or heartbreaks, is just a bit too familiar and low key.

There were hints of what this could have been, instead it was disappointing, they didn't pull on any of the threads of potential. I love a movie that can make magic of the mundane, can perfectly demonstrate the beautiful tragedies & joys of the average human experience and relationships. This was the it, this was just dull.

Lila (Talia Balsam) seems to have a happy family life in the Catskill mountains. Her life is turned upside down when her partner Edgar (Scott Cohen) reveals a devastating situation.

I like these actors. They are doing good work with this material. My main issue is that I'm a little confused sometimes. I need an org chart on some of these characters. I totally didn't know Emme until the very end. Maybe I missed something. Maybe it's intentional. I'm never on solid ground with these characters. I actually would have liked this to be all about her fling, but it seems to have come and gone.