I like historical movies – whether it is based on fact and is straight forwarded character driven (i.e. Milk 2008) or a loose interpretation which emphasizes the artistic rather than fact (i.e. Marie Antoinette 2006). I'm also a sucker for anything Southern/Florida based. So, Loren Cass (2006), a film with an actual Florida based event (the 1996 St. Petersburg riots which occurred after a police officer gunned down a motorist during a routine stop) in the background, with a freewheeling storyline and camera angles to match, set to a punk soundtrack was my kind of movie.
We're in the aftermath of the riots (I admit, I hadn't heard about this whole event and quickly went to research it afterwards), in a sleepy and generic suburban town (St. Pete). It follows a cast of characters – primary and secondary – but mostly, we watch the budding romance (?) between a young mechanic and a young waitress. And there's an awesome performance scene by the band Leftover Crack. But it's not about the kids at a punk show or the mechanic and the waitress. It's about the town adjusting and not adjusting, it's about a moment in time, it's about the moody lull that hangs over most suburban neighborhoods.
I can understand why some might not like the film. It can be hard to watch, at times. I watched it twice in a row, just to get it and I was still left a little confused. It's contradictory. It has patches of quiet and slow, cut with chaotic noise. There's little dialogue and little action, but it's cut with external dialogue and footage (including graphic footage of R. Budd Dwyer who committed suicide at a televised press conference). It is an ugly, bleak movie that has brief moments of beauty and grace. It may confuse and disorient you, but, if you're like me, you'll agree that that is what a good film is supposed to do.
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