Hello all you lovely CIFF blog followers! After a bit of a hiatus the past few days (university kind of makes parking my butt in a theater all week a tad difficult) Mel is back, back again.. and couldn't be more excited.
As you all know, this year was CIFF's much anticipated launch of the Mavericks program featuring 10 incredible film makers from around the globe. Tonight for example, I had the privilege of seeing two films back to back from opposite sides of the globe - an Iranian film called Be Calm and Count to Seven, and probably my most anticipated flick of the entire 10 day festival - an American film entitled "My Suicide."
After the house lights came on after My Suicide, my first thought was... well.. nothing. I was utterly and completely speechless. As I'm sure you can all imagine, being speechless is kiiind of the kiss of death for a blogger, so it was a relief when thoughts started buzzing through my mind as my friend Allie and I left the theater. I couldn't wait to get home and gush about this movie, so here I go!
I think it's safe to say, that My Suicide 100% blew my mind (no politically incorrect pun intended... I promise.) It was everything I hoped it would be and more. The ensemble cast was brilliant with cameos from the likes of Tony Hale (best known for his role as the infamous Buster Bluth on one of my all-time favorite TV shows Arrested Development) and the late, great David Carradine.
The film itself was a look inside the head of your not so typical high school student - Archibald "Archie" Williams, and the events that follow after he announces that for his final film project he wants to kill himself on camera. Even though this was a movie about being a teenager, it was anything but your average teen movie. The movie dealt with heavy subject matter - but carried it off in such a witty and intelligent manner that it provided a fresh outlook on what is often an over-explored theme in independent film.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of My Suicide, was the way in which it was played out on screen. The final product was the fruit of over 4 years of labor by director David Lee Miller and his team, and it couldn't have been more apparent. The film is an eclectic mix of documentary-style footage and animation, with PSA announcements from the 1950s cleverly spliced in throughout. The film also features a lot of great monologues done by Archie in homage to cinematic trailblazers such as Apocalypse Now and the Matrix. Gabriel Sunday in the lead role of Archie pulls these moments off flawlessly, and I'll admit, this blogger may now be nursing a bit of a crush on this up and coming star.
The movie not only takes a courageous stand against an issue most people like to skirt around, but it also makes some bold statements about our society as a whole. My friend and I spent the whole drive home talking about how A.D.D our society has become, and how we feed off other peoples' misery, through such outlets as reality television or via embarrassing home videos posted on YouTube for the world to see. I believe Archie put it best when he says, "The green screen is the pogo stick of our generation." Pretty intense themes for a movie to tackle right? Well rest-assured, David Lee Miller walks the fine line between melodrama and hard-hitting cinema and comes out unscathed. I know that I for one will be mulling over this movie for weeks to come, and I would not be the slightest bit surprised if My Suicide brings home the big prize at tomorrow's highly-anticipated Mavericks awards ceremony.
