Sympathy

SYMPATHY has its good and bad points. The best thing about it is the ending, which is a cool, twisty resolution. It's also very satisfying. The final 15 minutes are -almost- worth the wait.

The problem lies in what's involved in getting there!

At 105 minutes, it all seems to drag on endlessly. This is mostly due to its taking place entirely in one tiny motel room. At first, this adds to the tension and feel of claustrophobia. However, this wears off as it becomes static with the characters going back and forth over the same conversations.

If about 20 minutes had been excised from this movie, it would have been far less tedious. As it stands, much of the suspense is dissipated by the overall bloat...

A failed bank robbery leads to a hostage situation in a hotel. An escaped convict also arrives at the hotel, commencing a series of three-way mind games.

The movie starts off pretty strong, right in the middle of the hostage situation. There is no bank robbery shown, and the entire film consists of one room and three people. This is a minimalist approach to filming and a good way to stretch a budget. "The Disappearance of Alice Creed", a similar yet different story, relied on this tactic to keep the film simple and easier to storyboard. Here we have a poor man's "Alice Creed", simple enough that it could even be a stage production.

The directing and cinematography are above average (thank you, Andrew Moorman) and the sound is also quite good. If there is any weak point, it may be the casting. I do not mean to imply that the acting was bad. Everyone here played their parts well. My only concern was that the captor did not have a menacing look and I doubted his ability to pull off such a caper. This inconsistency is somewhat resolved later on in the plot development, but not to my full satisfaction.

The second actor, playing the convict, is more convincing for me. He has a natural darkness to him, a sort of stereotypical Sicilian look. He does play the more violent and threatening of the two, so that was a wise choice (having the little guy boss around the big guy would look silly if it was anyone other than Joe Pesci doing it).

In short, the film did not do it for me. I sort of regret saying so, because I feel this was more a budget issue than anything else. There is plenty of talent behind this picture and I really hope to see Andrew Moorman's work in the future. He has the skills, he has the eye of a masterful director. But something just did not ignite on this one.

I can't believe the gushing reviews for this film - it has to be relatives or friends of the filmmaker and/or cast and if so - I get it. I understand how you want to support an effort by friends and there is some talent behind the film but NOT Hitchcock for crissakes. Get a hold of yourself. Now if it is true that a bunch of locals made this in a barn structure in Indiana - that is impressive to pull this all together and get it made. But the script and the two male leads reek of bad college experimental theatre - lots of screaming and then threatening whispers - guns and knives being pointed - just lame Tarantino posing. The girl - who is handcuffed to a bed most of the picture gives a solid performance - she's believable - you look in her eyes and see wheels turning but the two male actors just seem like amateurs - not believable at all - you can yell all you want but I don't believe for a second that you are dangerous. And look - the film got released on DVD - that's big - that will get it seen by a lot of people but people who have nothing to do with the production - just film fans who paid money to rent it or buy it and they are entitled to say what they think - and I think it is a good effort but overall - it drags and sputters and doesn't really work overall.

I just finished watching a screener DVD of Sympathy and I was left floored. I grew up a couple of houses down from director Andrew Moorman, so I was anxious to see what a kid from my hometown could do if he were given a chance to break away from a small berg in Ohio.

Wow. Just... wow. This is a chilling and often disturbing character study that could have easily been nothing more than a bad student film. But thanks to Moorman's eye for excellent photography and ability to direct his actors, Arik Martin's riveting script and the cast's brutal, naked honesty in their portrayals, this film stands among the best first efforts from any director. If you liked Reservoir Dogs, you'll love Sympathy.

Sympathy is Hitchcock's Rope for the 21st century. The entire movie is shot in one hotel room and has only three actors. The story grows deliciously claustrophobic as the trio continues to chew and gnaw at each other's psyches, culminating into some "Holy sh*t!" moments later in the film. Again, the story is sharp, witty and holds the audience's attention. But what impressed me the most was Moorman's use of a seemingly endless amount of shots that kept the claustrophobic setting alive. Where Hitchcock used protracted, contemplative photography in Rope, Moorman edited his film so that it was a rusty shiv constantly swiping at the audience until the end when it severs the Jugular.

The only complaint that I can register for Sympathy is a matter of logic that comes up late in the film. I cannot go into more detail without spoiling the ending. However, the rest of the film is so solid that I am willing to overlook it.

Watch out for Andrew Moorman because if Sympathy is any indication, he is ready to take on Hollywood. Do yourself a favor and go out of your way to see this film. Because when Moorman is making successful, critically acclaimed films in the coming years, you can brag to your friends that you were a fan of Moorman's before he was famous.

Note to all you first time filmmakers that embark on the journey of making a low budget horror or thriller film – 'Keep it Simple'.

If only more directors without much funding would take this to heed we would get more films like Long Pigs and Sympathy and less like The Landlord and Dead Noon.

This was not lost on director Andrew Moorman who took a smart thriller by writer Arik Martin and turned it into a very competent and highly entertaining film called Sympathy.

The beauty of the film is in its simplicity. The story has but three characters and all takes place in a motel room. That is where a suggested bank robber named Tripp (Steven Pritchard) brings his hostage Sara (Marina Shtelen) and handcuffs her to the bed. While trying to formulate an escape plan, Tripp's getaway is interrupted by Dennis (Aaron Boucher), an escaped convict who coincidentally end up in the same room with multiple agendas.

In a film style that clearly pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock and Brain DePalma, the three characters will spend an evening revealing depths of their personalities while setting in motion an intense cat-and-mouse game convoluted with bulging egos and personal motivations.

To further obstruct a clean getaway, characters will be shot, stabbed and emotionally tormented as the story unfolds revealing characters that are not whom they appear to be. The final chapters will include a blood soaked ending that will remind you of an early Tarantino work and a satisfying end to an evening's odyssey.

Kudos to director Andrew Moorman for not trying to squeeze more out of the intelligent script than what was pressed onto the straight to DVD release. His directing was able to hide from this seasoned reviewer a reveal that I didn't see coming (granted it wasn't M. Night-ish, but it still generated a 'wow' response).

When producing a movie with one setting and limited characters, it is important to have strong acting to accompany the script pages or all is lost. Pritchard, Shtelen and Boucher put on believable performances even if the acting is at times uneven. Shtelen in particular starts off weak, but by the end of the film, she plays the role of Sara with a seasoned confidence.

Revealing any specifics would be an injustice to anyone who follows this review with a screening, but as low budget, independent films go, this one ranks in the top tier.

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