Posts Tagged ‘Rob Ramsay’

THE INVISIBLES: 3 ½ STARS. “asks fundamental questions about life.”

SYNOPSIS: In “The Invisibles,” a new fantasy family drama starring Tim Blake Nelson and Gretchen Mol, and now playing in theatres, Charlie is feeling invisible. Ignored at work and having trouble at home, he leads a life of quiet desperation. As his troubles mount, he slowly disappears; literally unseen by everyone except those in a parallel universe who have also vanished from real life.

CAST: Tim Blake Nelson, Gretchen Mol, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Webster, Rachel Wilson, Tennille Read, Laura de Carteret, Juno Rinaldi, Courtenay J. Stevens, Rob Ramsay, Vinson Tran, Golden Madison, Jean-Michel Le Gal, Tal Gottfried, Elina Miyake Jackson, Nathan Alexis, Philip Van Martin, Grace Loewen. Written and directed by Andrew Currie.

REVIEW: Charlie’s (Nelson) trip into a new dimension isn’t so much an exploration of the hereafter as it is a journey of self-discovery. Charlie isn’t dead, he is simply absent from his life, watching his old reality from another point of view. It’s a little bit “It’s a Wonderful Life,” (with a charming Nathan Alexis subbing in for Clarence), and part low-key “Interstellar” rumination on human agency and what it means to be alive.

At the heart of it all is Nelson who gives Charlie a world weariness born of trauma, disappointment and apathy. He’s a “don’t know what you have till it’s gone guy,” forced to fight for his place in the world, and to accept that disappointment, frustration and loss are equal threads in the great human tapestry alongside love and joy.

The secret to the performance is in his eyes, as we see him processing whether to return to the unpredictable real world or stay in the relative emotional stasis of the invisible world. It’s lovely work, vulnerable but determined, imbued with both bliss and the blues.

As otherworld bartender Carl, Bruce Greenwood makes a convincing argument for sidestepping the pains of real life, but writer/director Andrew Currie chooses to dive deep, examining how and why emotional tumult shapes us.

“The Invisibles” is thoughtful, provocative filmmaking that asks fundamental questions about life, love and trauma is an entertaining, and often funny, way.

FIRST ROUND DOWN: 3 STARS. “working class Quentin Tarantino.”

You can never go home again, particularly if you’re a former local legend gone bad. “First Round Down,” an offbeat new film starring “Orphan Black’s” Dylan Bruce is a story of hockey, hitmen and hometown expectations.

Split into three sections—or periods—Bruce plays Hamilton, Ontario’s Tim Tucker, a junior hockey star and prodigy on and off the ice. When an injury ends his NHL dreams he goes off the grid, disappearing, leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend Kelly Quinn (“The Republic Of Doyle’s” Rachel Wilson) and all traces of the life he once knew. After ten years of doing wet work as a Montreal mob enforcer he returns home after his parents pass away to look after his younger brother and get his life back on track. “Winning has been harder to come by since you haven’t been around,” says his old coach. “Winning has been harder since hockey hasn’t been around,” comes Tim’s rueful reply. A job as a pizza delivery driver is less than satisfying—customers who don’t tip bring out his bad side—so before long he takes on the proverbial one last job to make money to look after his brother and possibly woo Kelly.

A Cancon soundtrack—heavy on Junkhouse, Sloan, The Northern Pikes and Triumph—fuels the action. “First Round Down” is working class Tarantino, a scrappy crime story that proudly wears its low budget status on its sleeve, wisely investing in story and characters instead of oversized set pieces.

Bruce, Quinn and John Kapelos (playing a mob boss) keep things lively but it is the filmmaking that impresses. Full of energy, it’s a grubby popcorn flick with the spirit of a hockey fight.