Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician

Well first, it's probably best not to recommend this movie if you're not excited to see famous cameos from the Los Angeles indie music scene, or if you have inside information about why this movie was made other than thinking "oh, I live in LA, i have a lot of cool musician friends, i should do a film with them" - i couldnt figure it out myself.

What if you are an indie music geek then?

Well, the story is a bit like "philip marlowe wants to play keyboards in a band". But i don't necessarily mean that in a good way. The good thing is that it might give you the motivation to re-watch "the long goodbye" by Robert Altman. The bad thing is that you *will* keep wondering whether there is an inside joke to this film, or if this is a film school project thing.

It has to be said, this is *VERY LOW* fi. i can't believe they still manufacture cameras that can give you such a bad image, though. I'm just saying this is not just about the lack of money and staff. Seriously, when characters move 3 feet away from the camera, it gets blurry. The acting is awful all the way through, with the noticeable exception of Beck, who comes out okay. Even Gregg Henry, whose appearance is quite a nice at surprise at first, is very disappointing. A special mention for the framing, i found it schockingly lazy and inexperienced all the way through. And not only you do not expect that kind of inexperience even for a first time moviemaker, you do not expect that kind of inexperience from somebody who loves films and has seen lots of them. I do not know how much time, money and staff was put into this project, but it seems hard to forgive it all.

Now why on earth did i find it all quite charming? I am not able to phrase it. Well of course, the cameos. But also i guess some kind of sparkle to it. The script is crap, and well the directing is awful. But i guess maybe the idea for the script? The general tone?

How did i manage to watch it all the way through (and i did!) other than the fact that elliott smith only appears in the last 3 minutes? I'm not joking, i found it all quite entertaining.

i'm not sure why!

Certainly not a film i would generally recommend, but *some* people might enjoy *some* of it.

This film is the very definition of what independent film should be. It has a carefree attitude that you cannot help but be carried along with. The acting is far above what you see in the majority of DV features. Everyone involved takes it seriously as a film and not some shot on a weekend flick. Rory Cochrane is excellent in his role of Chance the Keyboard player and makes a fine tour guide through a strong ensemble cast of actors and musicians. Beck and Lawerence Hilton-Jacobs particularly stand out as Bek and Motherchild respectively. It remind me of John Landis' "Into the Night" from the early eighties as a surreal journey through a subculture of L.A. More then worth tracking down

Dudes,

This movie is tight and has all the elements that make a great movie. Including, great characters, original soundtrack and story to begin with. This movie transports me back to a time when me and my friends used to hang out around Los Angeles, Glendale and other places. It rules with memories and I hear a second Southlander is in the works. If you want to laugh your ass off, get this DVD. This movie is like Beck's-Mello Gold. I hope that makes sense.

Peace

DP

This is a film that would potentially seem to have a lot going for it, with a lo-fi vibe and super-hip Cameos from the likes of Beth Orton, Beck, Elliott Smith, Hank Williams III and Billy Higgins. The basic idea of the film is also promising: struggling indie musician finds his dream instrument (a vintage synthesizer) in the classified ads, only to have it stolen from his car whereupon he goes on a quest through LA's suburban sprawl to try to recover it, meeting various hipsters and eccentric SoCal characters along the way.

The filmmakers seem to be aiming for a cult classic along the lines of "Repo Man" meets "Tapeheads". The problem is that, with the exception of Rory Cochrane in the lead role and Beck, Beth Orton and Ione Skye in minor supporting roles, the acting is almost universally bad. In particular, co-star/co-writer Ross Harris is very poor in the role of Cochrane's best friend, over-acting in every scene he's in (which is way too many).

Overall, the film's dialogue is not much better, although there are a few pretty funny lines and situations here and there through the 80 minutes.

To sum up, I don't know whether this is a film school final project or merely a very amateurish attempt to make an indie feature. If it's the former then a lot can be forgiven, otherwise if it's the latter then it's pretty much a debacle.

What a great original movie! Also, hilarious!!And the music is awesome! This movie has so many different moments.Have watched this movie hundreds of times because it reminds me of me and my friends. It is just like reality in my life. It keeps a great pace. Rory Cochrane plays a cool slacker dude looking for his '69 moletron. He and others get hosed by the weirded out LA crowd, looking for the moletron. It is the money, dudes and chicks! So many different music artists. I highly recommend to all that like good alternate music and original independent films. Way to go Steve and Ross who both wrote and directed the film. Ross' music can also be heard throughout the movie. Peace djtodd