Man from Reno

Greetings again from the dark. It's been awhile since we have seen a turtle movie that didn't also feature pizza and nunchucks. While it's true that the endangered exotic turtles in director Dave Boyle's neo-noir potboiler don't live in the sewer or wear masks, they do play a key role in his multiple-plot murder mystery co-written with Joel Clark and Michael Lerner.

This nifty little web of clues and McGuffins centers on mystery writer Aki (Ayako Fujitani) and a small town Sheriff (Pepe Serna), and starts with a foggy night on a nearly deserted road. From there we get murders, turtles, a night of passion, deceit, paparazzi, secrets, and a rich Brit and his burly henchmen. And if that's not enough, there is a professional impostor who takes identity theft to the extreme.

With the back and forth between English and Japanese dialogue, the film has the feel of a foreign film, yet it's filmed mostly in San Francisco. The use of mood lighting and atmospheric sets add an element of intrigue. Heck, even one small hotel room gets used over and over for a variety of scenes. It's a fun movie to watch and play along with.

Ms. Fujitani and Mr. Serna are both excellent in their roles, and support work comes courtesy of Kazuki Kitamura (The Raid, Killers), Hiroshi Watanabe (Letters from Iwo Jima), Rome Kanda, and Derrick O'Connor (Lethal Weapon 2). This was a favorite on the film festival circuit last year, and despite the use of a couple of false endings, it is one most fans of mysteries will enjoy.

An old sheriff of a small town is smart but not smart enough and gets continually outwitted by a murderous con man in the big city. Hmm where have we seen this story before?

This movie is interesting for its Japanese-American half and half formulation, including the reading of subtitles for much of the movie as the actors speak Japanese. That part was fun and the lead actress really does an excellent job.

Without spoiling, I found the ending to be as unsatisfying as I did NCFOM. Some call this 'film noir' but I call it 'film frustration'. Also what was the point of the Sheriff's daughter who starts out like she's going to be a main character and then slowly fades into obscurity?

Interesting enough to give it a 6 but couldn't do better given the final result.

Man from Reno was my first foray into the films of Dave Boyle, and from what I hear, it is quite different from what he has previously made. But if any of his other films do resemble this one, I will definitely make the effort to seek them out. Man from Reno felt at once like a throwback to great 1940s noir mysteries like The Big Sleep, while also being remarkably relevant in 2015. The opening scene - driving through fog so thick you can't see three feet in front of you - sets the tone for the rest of the movie; the plot twists and turns so much it's nearly impossible to keep up with all the new information, but it still manages to stay coherent enough that you stay on the edge of your seat, trying to grasp whatever details may stick. And through all this, a set of richly developed characters connect with you, keeping you invested in their story, even if you may not fully understand it. I left turning over the details of the movie in my head and will continue to do so for some time - hopefully a second viewing will reveal much of what I missed the first time around!

Ever see at these film festivals these badge wearers with the lanyards, the premium seating, eyes bugged-eyed from all the darkness, the concentration? How could someone see that many movies in so concentrated a time? And why? Here's your answer, one of those utterly joyous discoveries deep in the festival catalog that makes everything - the expense, taking off from work for a week, the fatigue - completely worth it. Brighter movie minds than mine can comment on things like the movie antecedents at work here (there are a ton!), to how this movie compares with Dave Boyle's earlier efforts, etc. What I can relate is that coast-to-coast smile that came over me as the movie found its gear (early) and then just held for an hour and a half as it propelled forward with one crackling and comedic plot twist after another. Standout and surprisingly deep performances from Auoko Fujitani and Pepe Serna (so, so good to see him in a role where he gets the time and physical space to really round out his character), the whole cross- cultural noir thing, and these gorgeous wanders around old San Francisco. I've seen some great films here at the Philadelphia Film Festival thus far, but at the mid-way point this one is shaping up as the clear take-away memory. Why would someone want to see four films in a day in pursuit of that hard-to-convey sensation of those beautiful and magical connections between ideas, storyline, casting and portrayals? This is why. Here's hoping this charming and well-built movie finds the larger audience it so richly deserves.

Just seen on big theatre screen. Excellent, well done suspense story, and should have had wider distribution except... 1) After the pre-title powerful open the movie drags due to far too much mostly dull character development (with a lot of just talk) that should have been cut. 2) The end goes on and on and on; the there are too many scenes that could have been handled more rapidly or the scenes cut down in length. There is a feel of a whole bunch of "false endings" before the movie finally ends. It's a shame, because this movie was definitely was ripe for much bigger theatre distribution. Still, be sure to catch it if you can, especially on a big theatre screen.