Sironia

Started watching this movie based on a friends recommendation, was not sure what to expect but this movie is absolutely full of creative potential - beautifully made. A smart, involving, and expressive film. A heartfelt tale of an artists journey and struggle. Great blend of drama and insight. Filled with intriguing detours that follow connections only the director's mind could make.

Excellent performances by the entire cast.. and a groundbreaking style and work done by Brandon Dickerson.

Absolutely loved, loved.

Must watch!

Thomas Fisher (Wes Cunningham) is an L.A. musician who released a record long ago. A bad record deal left him out in the cold. Should he continue his career as a songwriter for a teen pop princess or should he walk away in frustration? With a child coming, he and his wife Molly (Amy Acker) move to Sironia, Texas near her family.

His frustration leaves him little more than a douchey malcontent. Wes Cunningham plays it with such a sour note. It's hard to root for him. In fact, it's hard to watch the train-wreck. There're good performances from Amy Acker and Tony Hale. The music is good. The problem remains that the guy is so frustrating that it's a hard watch.

...then maybe don't say anything at all? But I have 600 characters, so here's the "nice." The supporting cast (Amy Acker, Tony Hale, Jeremy Sisto) is mostly solid. That's about it for me.

The movie is painfully slow, and Wes Cunningham's Thomas is such an unlikable malcontent that hanging the movie on feeling for him or the mediocre music he makes is a tough sell. I know this is essentially Cunningham's true story, so I feel bad being harsh... I wish him the best, but not everybody's life translates into a feature film. I'm a 3.5, rounded up to a 4, because it's brave to put yourself out there like that... but there are so many "struggling or disillusioned" musician movies to watch... and most are considerably better than this. Do yourself a favor and go find one.

Now here's a truly rare treat these days - a film with true heart. There is also plenty of spirit and pure innocence to be found. The characters are real and I found myself caring for them as the story unfolded. Amy Acker turned in an Oscar-worthy performance and everybody else fit their roles perfectly with Wes Cunningham a natural in his role. This won the Austin Film Festival Audience Award last October so come on somebody and distribute this already! Highly recommended in general and more than suitable for renewing any down-trodden spirits. And last but not least, Brandon Dickerson has delivered in spades and I hope to see more feature length productions from him soon!