Revolution #9

I really really liked this movie which I saaw at the Nantucket Film Festival. I especially liked the scenes with the hilarious Spalding Gray and Adrienne Shelley (one of my faves of all time!). The director seems to know a lot about mental illness and he unravels the plot like a good Hitchcock suspense film, and it's also beuatifully shot. Highly recommended viewing if you like films that are dark, funny, and a little brutal. (I do!)

For hollywood histrionics, see Opie's "A Beautiful Mind. For a low-key, searing and accurate portrait of a schizophrenic drowning in his delusions, see this little film. I saw it at the Telluride Film Festival, and it was one of the best films there. Refreshingly free of scenery chewing for it's own sake, the lead actor has a terrific natural intensity. And the director has the balls to deliver the gut wrenching feel bad ending that is the only one appropriate to this subject matter at this time.

I've noticed that most of the comments on this film are from people who are either big fans of independent film or friends of those who have tragically sufferred from the disease portrayed by the film-makers. I am neither, and would like to recommend the film to others who consider themselves more mainstream. Yes, for a variety of reasons I won't go into (I don't want to ruin it) Hollywood might never have made this film. But that doesn't mean it isn't a gripping drama with more internal coherency than many big-budget pictures. The fact that it touches on some political issues is an added bonus to a movie that should, otherwise, appeal to open-minded but otherwise mainstream audience members. If you get a chance, check out this film, you won't regret it.

Realistic portrayal of a man's descent into mental illness coupled with sharp media satire. Speaks volumes about our society's over saturation of commercialism and suggestive imagery. Amazing performances flesh out a dark, edgy story that definitely deserves recognition.

Revolution #9 is not a thriller, it's a gritty, affecting drama that tackles the subject of mental illness head on. Nothing is glamorized here. This is a down and dirty, sometimes blackly comic film that displays genuine talent on the part of writer/director/cinematographer Tim McCann and his extremely strong cast. Disturbing and powerful, it's a film Hollywood would never make - one of the best recent examples of why a vibrant independent film scene is so important.