Our Man in L.A.

Cool premise, I'm in. Started strong but I soon came to feel we ain't gonna see any exotic technology here or other people period for that matter so straight off the bat I was a little disappointed. The project gets a A effort and I think it punched well above it's weight. Impressive, good job. The solo actor is great and the character study is compelling. However the non inclusion of any other actors on screen even insignificant background players although for whatever good reasons like covid restrictions created a tedious effect for me and acted as a real barrier to believe in and become immersed in the story. I half expected our character to wake up from a dream a lone castaway on a desert island. Shame because in most other regards this works as a satisfying and effective screen story. Once again I sometimes felt a real disconnect from Percival and the voices he was speaking to, the words worked on paper but the delivery and tone felt like these were created in ADR sessions and not really happening in real time. These conversations had a hit or miss reality that didn't help draw me in. That being said I sill gave in to Percival's emotional journey and let go my nerdy fixation on UFO's and alien tech to where by the end I had no idea what actually happened at the end or cared as far as the original premise that initially attracted me. In my book this equates to the film makers must of done something right, however it just wasn't the thing I was hoping for. This film is a clever low budget effort on one hand and a little underwhelming on the other due to the thing that makes it clever in the first place.

I'll keep it short and sweet: the film was a acting masterclass, the acting was accomplished and superb. The camera work original and wonderfully paced. One of those rare works that are far and few between. I connected emotionally and easily invested in the story that had me in that timeless place where time and personal situation take a back seat. All you want and need a movie to do for one. These artists created a gem of a film.

Connecting with it was impossible to resist and commitment to the story brought great pleasure to this ancient film buff.

There you have it. I'm no expert on the in's and out's of movie making but I do know a unique work of art when I see, when I feel and when I experience it.

Despite numerous poor reviews, Our Man In L. A. is very well made for the Indie Project that it is.

Anybody who didn't enjoy this movie, chose not to.

Throughout the majority of the film the viewer is teased with ideas and character development & there is a depth here that you must look for yourself.

Although the tracking is slow at times, and may leave you bored or looking for more, the idea behind this is Solid And I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing.

The director took a wonderful idea, and with a low budget still managed to make a great film.

I am looking forward to seeing his career progress.

The film more or less centers around one character and his journey around town to find, sell and retrieve parts of alien technology for expensive buyers. We get a sense of his desperation as he attempts to get a big payoff to set his life on a different course, improve his relationship with his daughter. In this way, the film has the same feeling as Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness as we learn more about the backstory of our man in L. A. Being honest, the film slowed down a bit near the mid point but I kept watching and was rewarded, not by CGI or A list star, but by the story and wanting to see where the character ended up. Overall a good effort and enjoyable film. Gone are the days when people appreciate good stories, dialogue and backstory (and films are now just something to have in the background while scrolling on your phone) but Our Man in L. A. requires our attention and interest. Well done.

Did I just WATCH an audiobook? I get the idea of a story presentenced from the point of view of just one person, but the complete lack of any other people except for the main protagonist is bizarre and feels weird. The movie shows literally one person all the time and he's constantly talking on the phone with various people, so as the story unfolds, we only HEAR it. We hear some voices, sometimes we see some parts of other people's bodies, but there is never any physical interaction (well, there is one, but no spoilers here). There is just one guy running around, driving his car or a bicycle and he's calling someone non-stop.

Also, the color grading is pushing the film into the Mexican territory. I mean, everything is so yellow and unnatural looking. But it's supposed to be L. A.

I didn't enjoy the film. I've had a feeling that something is missing, although I liked the theme of recovering parts of alien tech from the sea. I guess there is a lot of potential in this idea. Just poorly executed here.