The Flats

Chad Lindberg gives his finest performance to date as Harper in the Requa Brothers' under-seen film, "The Flats" and to call it outstanding is no exaggeration. He embodies an over-the-top drunk without acting that way. He is profoundly loyal, wise about people and particularly the friendships he navigates, and loves to learn about life through experience using his contagious, magnetic personality. He's also profoundly sad, unwise about responsibility as well as how to handle undesirable conformity and sacrifice, and can be a shameless womanizer. Lindberg always makes the character his, from convincing drunkenness to convincing friendship.

As easy as it could be to pick apart a low-budget debut film like this, "The Flats" is unique. It may have some rough edges in terms of its script (dialogue and forced and/or clichéd events) and some of its peripheral actors, but it's more than the sum of these parts. In terms of movies about American youth, "The Flats" has heart and more closely resembles the emotional subtlety of "The Last Picture Show" rather than trying to be one of the numerous brainless movies about superficial youths living superficial lives in typical cities. And it's not lacking humor either.

These are all characters who come together organically with believable chemistry as a group of close friends but all face a certain isolation: from societal norms, from taking chances outside of them, from family, from finding love, or even from their own heritage and ancestral culture. The film uses its unique geography as another character (also like "The Last Picture Show") as well as its unique subcultures to elevate itself to uniqueness, authenticity, and heartfelt emotion despite its imperfections. This film took me by surprise. Hopefully the Requa Brothers will take another stab at a film, and hopefully Chad Lindberg (who seems usually relegated to roles in either small films like "The Flats" or smaller roles in poor ones) finally gets the chance to show his talent to a larger audience to get the appreciation he deserves.

Breathtaking in its cinematography and compelling in its story, The Flats is a great first effort for the Requa brothers. Kelly and Tyler do an excellent job of portraying a coming of age tale with subtly and compassion. Far from depicting the damaged Harper as a one-dimensional character, which would have been easy to do, the Requa brothers craft a multi-faceted portrait of a man forced to come to terms with his past, his reckless behavior, and his entrance into adulthood. Chad Lindbergh does a fantastic job of playing Harper with the subtly and skill he has become known for. It is clear that he is poised to break through into super-stardom. That said, however, this film would not have risen to such comedic heights without the able assistance of Greg Fawcett in the role of Chaz. For me, he stole the show. If you consider yourself an independent film buff, your resume will not be complete without seeing this film. I highly recommend it.

I'd heard a lot of good things about this film, but was still very reluctant to watch it. I feared it was gonna be yet another example of overrated "artistic" dribble that bored the living crap out of me. I figured there were better ways to waste a couple of hours of my life than sitting through yet another over-hyped (and achingly dull) indie film. Eventually, though, curiosity won out and I decided to give it a try. Much to my surprise, I found out pretty quickly that this is one indie flick that is definitely worthy of the hype!! After a somewhat slow start, The Flats evolves into a very moving film that manages to hold the interest of even an ADD-affected, action-junkie like me (which is no small feat!!). The sweet and simple story completely drew me in by mixing together dramatic moments that felt authentic and genuine with comedic moments that caught me off guard with their originality. It was refreshing to (finally) find an indie film that didn't feel contrived and avoided taking itself too seriously. After watching The Flats, I'm a lot more open-minded about giving these smaller films a try, and I'm looking forward to the next project from the Requa Bros. If The Flats is any indication, I think it's fair to say we can expect amazing things from this talented writing/directing team in the future...After all, anyone who introduces the "European Cross Grip" to the masses is definitely worth keeping an eye on!! :)

I really enjoyed how the filmmakers framed the shots. They were evocative of other movies,without being obvious enough to stick out. The story was engaging, but had some clunky, heavy, dialogue which at times could break the scene ;especially egregious was the card playing scene towards the beginning, though with more experience I'm sure those types of bump will smooth out. I enjoyed Chad's acting for the most part, though I do hope he stops channeling Matthew Lillard at his worst. I appreciated the organic way in which the story developed and really hope these guys can get funded and continue on to make another feature.

I felt this movie was entertaining to the point where it did its job in getting me out of my head(which i use movies for). I also felt the characters were fairly well developed, considering all the different characters involved. It had a realism about it that ironically added to the escapism element- that others' misfortunes can go a long way to make my life seem OK! The location of the filming definitely added to the point it was attempting to make. I consider this film for what it is- a decent independent film. I thought it to be very entertaining. It takes me a lot to stop, sit still and get "into" a new film I've never heard of- let alone an independent film on IFC channel, where others films haven't grabbed me. I think the cinematography was a big factor is stopping my remote on this movie initially with the whole "young people" drama thing being another pull.