I rented "The Driftless Area" from a Redbox machine and admired the offbeat nature of this low-budget fantasy-thriller.
A very fine cast is assembled with such veteran actors as Frank Langella and Cirian Hinds. Zooey Deschanel is lovely as Stella, the principal supernatural character. And Anton Yelchin is perfect as the Everyman figure named Pierre.
The film's narrative starts on the premise of cause-and-effect action and how seemingly random occurrences have fateful consequences. At the heart of the drama is the arson that is committed on a farm house with the petty criminal unaware that the home was occupied by a young woman. The film builds from that experience with a quirky set of characters playing out a fantasy revenge and redemption story.
The directorial approach to the film could have been more creative in evoking the supernatural aura surrounding the character of Stella. It was not clear, for instance, how Stella could appear to Pierre both as a real-life character and as a vision of light. There were too many confusing moments that could have been imaginatively developed in an otherwise thoughtful and sensitive film idea.
The Driftless Area
2015
Action / Crime / Drama
Plot summary
Pierre Hunter (Anton Yelchin),a bartender with unyielding optimism, returns to his tiny hometown after his parents' death. When he falls for the enigmatic Stella (Zooey Deschanel),Pierre is unknowingly pulled into a cat-and-mouse game that involves a duffel bag full of cash, a haphazard yet determined criminal (John Hawkes),and a mystery that will determine all of their fates. With Alia Shawkat, Frank Langella, Aubrey Plaza, and Ciarán Hinds. Zachary Sluser's film, based on the novel by Tom Drury, is a contemporary fable about the ways we struggle to control time and fate in a possibly predetermined universe.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Movie Reviews
Quirky Indie Film is Worth a Watch
After as in Meta
Life after death? Or rather drifting around after it? Does the movie deliver answers to some questions it has or rather the viewer will have? Probably not might be the right answer. The performances are great all around. Especially with the weird dialog that takes place throughout the movie.
So if you are into weird, not easily explained (if at all) things happening and watching them unfold, dialog that either is on the nose or very subtle and not telling at all, you may have found the right movie for you. Towards the end there may a bit more action than some would like, but the true ending is "making up" for that ... if you don't like that though, than it will break the movie for you. You should see it coming though, not just because what I used as summary line ...
Wrong place at the wrong time.
Pierre Hunter (Anton Yelchin) , is a jobless bartender full of optimism and maybe a bit naive, making his way back to his small hometown after the death of his parents. He literally falls for the enigmatic and winsome Stella (Zoey Deschanel),who becomes a partner in a hazardous cat-and-mouse mystery that involves a duffel bag full of money. Will conscience or fear of criminal consequence split the couple?
Zachary Sluser directs and writes the screenplay. Also appearing are: Frank Langella, Alia Shawkat, John Hawkes, Benjamin Rogers and Ciaran Hinds.