Particles of Truth

Particles Of Truth is an intelligent and thought provoking film. I was fortunate enough to catch it on the Sundance Channel's (New Voices). I did not know what the film was going to be about but the opening sequence drew me right in. The intense subject matter, combined with Elsters ability to make me laugh, made it a hopeful ride. Rarely do i see independent films that are sincere and meaningful. This is a standout first time feature film.

"Particles of Truth" is a one-woman, low budget indie which plays like one long string of trailer moments. Elsner sticks a couple of neurotic protags in front of us, asks us to care without good reason, and then proceeds to toss in anger, hate, self loathing, disgust, angst, woe, frustration, abuse, AIDS, yadayadayada, all of which all seem like excuses for drama rather than elements arising from the natural progression of a story. If you can't find something better than "Particles..." to watch, you're not trying. However, if you're an indie junkie, you may find value in this flick which did receive some positive comments from critics and all those folks who submitted comments to IMDB.com albeit suspiciously for this movie and this movie only. At this writing 64% of IMDB.com users scoring gave this film the absolute highest score, a ten, as they apparently would have us believe this film is better than "Citizen Cane" or "Gone With the Wind". Go figure. (C)

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.

This film was given to me by a friend for two reasons: 1)she loves Gale Harold as a result of his role on "Queer as Folk" and 2)like the protagonist Lilli Black, I paint. Consequently, I wanted to like this movie, I tried to like this movie... but all I could get into was the soundtrack. I wish I could've read the music credits at the end; maybe I need a bigger TV.

The good news: There are threads of a good (movie) story that exist in this film. The camera work is great, the atmosphere compelling, the music evocative. Larry Pine and Leslie Lyles (as the Wileys, Gale Harold's parents) turn in the most honest performances. I was disappointed at the lack of depth in their storyline; there was a real start of something there.

The bad news is simple: this film tries. There is a very contrived quality that overshadows the whole film because the audience (at least this one) recognizes that the director is trying to get us to feel something. The story was full of meaning and angst, with a very unfulfilling explanation of its origins. The viewer is not allowed to come to any conclusions on their own because the whole of the movie is leading them from symbol to indicator to cliché; in short, everything people resent about bad poetry.

With all due respect, this film (for me) is a perfect argument for keeping directors on one side of the camera. Yes, it works for a select few to act and direct, but those individuals (usually) have a clear idea of who the film should be about, and foresight enough to let someone else be the star. Maybe the director made the film she set out to make. It's just possible, however, that a singular focus on directing the film would've revealed the movie's true strength: the characters who made the protagonists who they were, not the angst they forced on the world as a result. The last twenty years of pop culture have given us our fill of angst and blame, but that wounded family dynamic will hit home almost every time. It needs to be honest, though, or it turns into a poor excuse for a life-long tantrum. And nobody wants to watch a movie about that.