Interweaving seemingly disconnected private moments of its culturally and economically disparate characters, “Explicit Ills” builds toward a collective action that is not entirely earned, a community march for economic change. In this respect, the story could have taken place in any large metropolitan center. The goal of conveying how people live in poverty in the inner city is unmistakably honorable and politically heartfelt, and so is the depiction of urban desperation, loneliness and alienation, experienced by the underclass in a sharply polarized, highly bureaucratic and indifferent society. Babo (Francisco Burgos) is an asthmatic boy raised by his single Latina mother (Rosario Dawson), who has hard time surviving and keeping the family together. Heslin (Ross Kim-McManus) pumps iron, while his father Kaleef (Tariq Trotter) tries to open a store for health products. They include a struggling young actor named Rocco (Paul Dano). A would-be artist named Michelle (Frankie Shaw) paints a portrait of the main characters, an aggregate of young and old, black and white, male and female. The narrative and execution are uneven, and not all the subplots and persona are of equal (or any) interest. Webber is good but impressively not indulgent with his actors, unlike other actors-turn-directors, and ultimately, it’s some of the individual characterizations and the high caliber of acting, by pros such as Rosario Dawson and Paul Dano, that helps the picture. Like its title, the film may be too conceptual for its own good, failing to provide meaningful links among its characters the way that other directors of collective urban drams, say Robert Altman or Paul Thomas Anderson, have done so carefully. The small-budget indie premiered at the 2008 SXSW Film Fest, where it won the Cinematography and Audience Award, and later played at CineVegas Fest. Actor Mark Webber makes a decent feature directorial debut in “Explicit Ills,” an ensemble-driven tale set in the lower-depths of Philadelphia.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |