Particles of Truth

I have never been a great fan of indie movies, but Particals of Truth has changed that for me. This movie showed on so many levels, the many kinds of loneliness that are all around us. The theme of alienation was painful to watch and yet it brought the characters to me. I could feel that loneliness moving like hot lava from one character to the next. Jennifer is a great talent and I consider it a privilege to have her share her experiences in her writing and direction. Gale Harold took a character that could be considered too eccentric for a indie feature, and made him so human, I could have reached out and touched him. There is in me a part of every character in Particles of Truth. It doesn't get much better than this.

In late June, I was fortunate enough to attend the IFP Los Angeles Film Festival. I saw many films at the festival, however only one film had promise, purpose and power. "Particles of Truth" is a cinematically poetic film, which delves into humanity's weakest yet most prevalent characteristics: self-doubt and insecurity. Rarely can a film simultaneously evoke opposing emotions of joy and depression. Nevertheless, "Particles of Truth" successfully masters this formula. Director and co-star, Jennifer Elster allowed me to search my inner self. The characters are so deep and personable; I truly felt a connection to each of their fears, flaws and hopes.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who is disgusted with Hollywood's phony and artificial portrayal of life. "Particles of Truth" is a real movie, with true characters and authentic resolution.

First the bad news: Particles of Truth is a real mope fest of self-pitying characters, each trying to out- dysfunction the other.

The main character, Lily (writer, producer, director & star Jennifer Elster) is an emotional mess because she was the product of a screwed up family (surprise!). She is an unappealing and unsympathetic character and that is the crux of the problem with the film.

Another problem is that none of this suffering is, in any way, new or interesting. We've seen all these gritty, pathetic people before. To make matters worse, some of the dialogue is cringingly pretentious.

Now the good news: Queer as Folk's Gale Harold is great as Morrison, a reclusive germ-fearing writer. He is the strongest, most likable and most realistic character in the bunch. He and Lily develop a tenuous relationship that scares her to the point of puking in his antiseptic bathroom. Despite Morrison's fears, he admits to Lily that he cares about her and proves it by venturing into the subway to find her (a germophobe's nightmare). He also manages to pull himself together to attend her art show.

There is real chemistry between Lily and Morrison and there is something endearing about watching these two people, who find it so hard to function in the world, manage to come together.

The soundtrack is great too.

Oh, and Gale Harold looks better in a shower cap than any man has a right to.

There are, it seems, prototypes for all movie genres out there: there's the teenage prototype, the romance prototype, drama, comedy, etc. The new addition to genres combines all movies under a generalization - indie - that's all-encompassing, but cheaply made.

"Particles of Truth" may be the prototype for this genre. It's got everything every other indie film professes to have: "deep" insight with cliché observations on life; bad camera work that begs for a tripod; production that demands better lighting; unheard-of music; relatively unknown actors; drugs; depressed people; funny people; trashy people; people with parent problems (esp. with the father); and the we're-weird-but-we're-really-normal-in-light-of-everyone-else main characters.

While I'm sure that some people might find "Particles" to be a careful and mind-blowing and revolutionary examination of truth, to me, it's like every other "alternative" film out there. Not only that, but its indie pretension is unbearable; the unusual camera angles that are the mark of low-budget films are irritating, and one keeps thinking, "Jesus, will somebody please stand on a table whilst holding that camera or something?" Otherwise, all the butt shots and four-foot sitting-eye-level footage really take a toll on one's patience.

I suppose that's my biggest complaint against this film: nothing about it feels original, which seems against the MO of the entire institution of indie film-making. Aren't these films, which aren't produced by big companies with big company interests, supposed to reveal something new, something that wasn't exhaustively covered by studio films like Paramount or Warner Brothers?

I have seen Particles of Truth when it previewed at the Tribecca Film Festival two years ago and when it appeared on the Sundance Channel this past December.

Impeccably casted, suburb acting, excellent soundtrack and not one minute of boredom is how I came up with a 10 rating for Particles.

I don't know how anyone could leave the theater without seeing themselves in at least one of the main characters. And just when things became to unbearable sad, Ms. Elster was able to sprinkle in just enough humor to lighten things up.

The worse part about Particles is that it had to end.

Hopefully Ms. Elster will be putting out some more Indies in the near future.