YOU LIKE TO DRAW?
(DRAMA, COMEDY)
SCREENPLAY AND DIRECTED BY TODD E BRALEY, STORY BY DEBRA LAMB
STARRING DEBRA LAMB, TRISTA ROBINSON, RHONDA WILLIAMS, ROSE BONINO, MARIE ELLEN GRIFFITH, AND BRII FRANK
WHAT THIS FILM DOES WELL: This movie has a lot of heart and the effort to make that apparent is tenfold. There are some incredibly well-orchestrated shots and the way this movie is designed by Todd Braley and his cinematographer Scot Stewart is really top-notch. I especially appreciate the car scenes that can maneuver effortlessly through the close ups, and then in the one shots into a two shot. There is a great depth of field established in those and thus you don't feel like its manufactured or unnatural. This happens in a lot of films, even big studios ones and that can take you out of the moment quicker than anything. This entire movie in fact has a lot of those visual moments like that. In the real heartfelt moments, which there are quite a few, it does an amazing job of establishing the tone, the feeling, and resonates with you emotionally and thought-provokingly because of that care. There is a real passion on display here and a really well-designed story idea. Rose Bonino's performance as the "forgotten" younger sister Laurie Miller is star-making, Rose really shines when she is on screen and has a real good feel for her character and that helps at times with the comic relief needed and the subtext of a lot of her own story within this movie. It's also really impressive to see a film that is so female-driven acting wise that doesn't need violence, overwrought misogyny, or misguided patronism to display that. These are real women, with real feelings, and real situations that feel as real as they can for a movie that needs to be, well, a movie ultimately.
WHY TO CHAMPION THIS FILM: You can see the care that this film takes to really get the message across. You can really feel the effort, the passion, and the daring way in which Todd Braley and his cast and crew take on the challenge. A good portion of this film is outside or in a car and those are 2 explicit challenges that could have gone so wrong and really destroyed the opportunity for the message to be heard. So the fact that they not only didn't shy away from it, and instead took the care that was required to not just do it but do it a manner that is done well (and it is), that's the kind of guts, the kind of storytelling we need to see more of in our Indie community. Also, the fact that this is showing real women being showcased in a truthful light and not manufactured through tricks of the trade or conceptualized idealistic perpetuations should be applauded. This is not the perfect film though by any stretch of the imagination, and a lot of that comes from limitations it can't help like budget, but it is one that if you let be what it is intended to be you can see how almost perfect the message and the feelings really are. It is as true to form as anything out there. If that doesn't deserve some support, some love, then I don't know what does.
YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS FILM IF YOU LIKE: Hallmark movies and movies with a good heart and message.
YOU CAN WATCH THE MOVIE HERE
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