One of the great pleasures of American independent movies involves an attempt to answer the following question: when you strip away all the studio artifice of Hollywood movies, what are you left with? If you've got a good script, interesting actors, and a keen eye for direction... well, isn't that all you need?
Andrew Bujalski specializes in this type of movie. "Beeswax" is his third feature (after "Funny Ha Ha" and "Mutual Appreciation"), and it shows a sophistication that belies its low-budget origins. "Beeswax" stars twin sisters Tilly and Maggie Hatcher as twin sisters Lauren and Jeannie. Wheelchair-bound Jeannie runs an Austin boutique / thrift store with Amanda (Anne Dodge), and is struggling with that partnership; Lauren is considering a trip to Africa to teach English. The central conflict (such as it is) in "Beeswax" involves Jeannie's attempts to secure her future with the boutique; will she require Lauren's help to find a solution?
"Beeswax" is a movie of small moments, astutely observed. It's funny, too. The cast of little-known actors is uniformly good; I was particularly fond of Alex Karpovsky as Jeannie's law student (ex-)boyfriend Merrill.
"Beeswax" played at the Globe on Friday night, but has an encore screening on Sunday afternoon at 12:30, at Eau Claire.
