DANCES WITH FILMS: FEATURE FILM SPOTLIGHT YALE

 

I have had the wonderful privilege of experiencing the Dances With Film LA Film Festival digitally this year, and here is a look at all the films I have seen. Keep them and the folks involved on your radar, as you never know when you just might get the chance to see them for yourself. 

We are going to continue with the Narrative Feature Film, YALE. 

YALE

DRAMA/COMEDY

RUN TIME: 123 MINUTES

WRITTEN BY VAN BILLET
DIRECTED BY JAY SILVERMAN

STARS CAITLIN MCGEE, KEVIN DUNN, and BENJAMIN MACKEY

The first thing I really gravitated toward was the writing here. There is a sharpness to the wit, and a nice step up from the usual woe is me fare that writers tend to paintbrush with these types of films. Instead, we get a great glimpse into two very hurt, messed up, flawed characters who are never truly mean about it to others around them. In fact, most of the time, the ancillary characters are ones slinging threats and being standoffish. I realize it's mostly because of numbness to their situations, but it also makes them see their own faults, and there's this incredibly subtle introspective self-realization that flutters like dust particles in front of their faces.  It also shows how their blood relation is reflected in each other, and that is a powerful idea that carries throughout most of the back half of this movie and kind of sits like an albatross in the 1st half. 

Then came a really great bit of writing with the nice 2nd Act reveal and twist. This moment was also my favorite shot and cut in the movie by Jay Silverman. I will get into more depth about the look in a few paragraphs. 

I just have to say first, though, that Caitlin McGee and Kevin Dunn are magnificent here.  They have this undeniable chemistry on screen that just engrosses you and keeps you so locked in. I love the choices they make, the long stares, the dispirited looks, and just the taking their time unraveling. All coupled with their bitter banter, their inflections, and their raw truth that has this power in it that so often is indescribable, and they carry it so well. The moment in the motel parking lot is a masterclass in scene work. 

The best thing about what Jay does in his design of this film is he never gets in their way. Whether the frame is wide, or a medium two shot, or a close up, the after effects of the moments linger and press on you with bated breath. The lighting in this movie is also done with such precision; I love the colors here and mood setting it provides or tries to wash out at times too. 

The only couple of things I really felt were off were the music. It was dialed up way too much. Silence in that very scene in the motel parking lot would have just been so stunning, but at that point, the music had become such a part of this, it would have kind of skewed a tad weird. So I get it, Jay made a choice and stuck with it; I can respect that. 

The other thing was that there is a lot of build for what we know is coming, and the twist aside, it bogs the beginning of this movie down a tad, but with Caitlin, Kevin, and another noteworthy performance from the young man in the movie, Benjamin Mackey, that becomes a little more forgivable. 

Especially since the back half of this movie moves so well.  At the end of the day, what this movie gave me and what it left me with was more than worth two hours of my time. Very nicely done here.  If you like movies that leave you with something, this one is definitely worth checking out if you see it somewhere to do so.