Things That Hang from Trees

Saw this at SXSW and liked it. The flick centers around a sort-of-autistic kid? whose whacked-out mother (Deborah Unger) models lingerie in the window of her store. The characters are all pretty grotesque and are almost more a symbol to the kid instead of believable peoples. (especially the kids abusive dad played by one of my favs -the crazy priest in Deadwood---Ray McKinnon.) My main problem with the film is the lack of any magical quality to the tree of which the whole film is named?

The acting (casting especially) was good, the story is there---subtle with a deemphasis on plot which has it flirt dangerously with dullness. Every time though, the story surprises.

I found the cinematography to be one of the films strongest elements- Not perfect but pretty impressive for first time director.

1 of the locally shot films in the Jacksonville Film Festival. A series of creepy, moody events guide this bare bones plot about a semi-retarded kid wanting to see the July 4 fireworks. The kid drifts through the days and seems barely aware of his cringe-inducing father, drug-addled mother (Deborah Kara Unger who poses in negligee in her store front window) and spiteful Christian weirdo neighbor. There are tons of weirdos in this film. The main character basically bumps into all of them along his way to see the fireworks.

This brings me to my only real issue with this film. There are almost too many unpleasant aspects of the south squashed into what is really just a straightforward story about a kid with a very kid-like goal. At times it weighs down the film.

The actors were all good. A seriously sexy Deborah Kara Unger was born to play roles like this.

Overall I liked the film a lot and thought it was a nice break from the norm.

An extremely dark narrative about a young boy & his strange relationship with his mum (Deborah Kara Unger) who operates a sexy lingerie shop in a conservative southern township that clearly doesn't want her. (It doesn't help her situation that she models the nighties she sells in the windows storefront) Everything is tricky from the start for the young boy. He's bullied continuously & is frozen blank with fear of all that surrounds him. (Including the sickening memories of his estranged & deranged father the part played expertly by Ray McKinnon) The complications for the boy & his mother aren't simply resolved, & so the future of these characters isn't clear. The ending is enjoyably ambiguous & because of its general strangeness it will earn its spot in the genre of the cult film.

The 5th and so far only worthy film I've seen this year in the Atlanta Film Festival. The story follows a a scared stiff boy that's too young and too traumatized to understand the bent characters that are harassing him. His life is a super seedy southern milieu world that grows seedier with every character he meets.

Best of all the film has an ending that as far as I'm concerned is new to cinema!

This movie was made with heart and has all the potential to become a cult classic. Especially since its far too eccentric to get major distribution. Oh, and a half naked Deborah Unger helps.

I was actually looking forward to seeing this film at the Austin film festival, but I was a little disappointed. The plot, although interesting and somewhat emotional, is presented in a tricky and sometimes confusing way. After seeing the movie, I looked to the person sitting next to me, and asked if they knew what had just happened. After seeing "Things that Hang from Trees", I went to its page here on this website and read the plot. To my surprise, it was completely different than what I thought it would say. Now that I think about it, it makes sense, but I shouldn't have to read the plot after the film to find out what the heck was going on. Nice try by the director, a period piece requires a lot of work and it truly shows in the overall picture and look of the film, but the story is just not there...