Dry River Road (2009)

This is a review I did for my uni course (Film journalism and Media studies at Huddersfield). The film's called "Dry River Road" and it's directed by a guy called Rory Haines who is originially from Bradford, which is why it is being shown at the Bradford Film Festival next year, sometime in March, I think. Here's the website if your interested, should be good.

Oh! Also it's the Leeds Film Festival next week as well and thats on till the end of the month. Should be going up there at some point to watch a film, not sure what yet but it shall be very exciting.

And!! Christopher Lee was finally knighted the other day which is very cool, well done to him. Still my favourite Christopher Lee character is Lord Summerisle from one of my favourite films ever "The Wicker Man".

Dry River Road is a story of desperation, depair, greed, racial distrust and a huge misunderstanding. Film student Rory Haines has made a film about a young man named Leo who is desperate but hopelessly trying to find his way.
Leo Whitlock, played by Justin Paul Kahn, needs a job but he lives in his car and seems more like an individual who gets into trouble after a few too many beers than a law abiding citizen. He needs a job before he can see his son who is seemingly absent from Leo's life.

Leo seeks help in the form of his "friend" Akeem (played by Rene David Ifrah), Akeem isn't sure of his relationship with Leo, but he knows they are not friends. He asks for a job at Akeem's petrol station. But Akeem is reluctant to give Leo a job, giving that he knows what type of character Leo is, he doesn't want the trouble and he knows just how unreliable he is.

Leo's latent aggressive nature is apparent throughout his thirteen minute film but he tries his hardest to keep it under control. This can lead to some unsure acting by Justin Paul Kahn who doesn't quite manage to pull of the this aspect of the character.

Akeem is an Arab immigrant who owns his own business and is doing relatively well, Leo is the complete opposite and is likely to have just come back from service in Iraq. He cannot get a job and therefore support his family but because of his previous circumstances he feels his country owes him the oppurtunity to get his life back to normal.

The theme of racial tension and discrimination is something which frequently re appears in this film without intention. Just the characters, especially Leo, who you would expect to be racist (his attitude and mannerisms with Akeem show this to us), bring an extra layer to the film which can lead the audience to feel uneasy but interested by the story.

The director has chosen to use some interesting camera work especially with his use of tracking shots and lack of cuts. The hand held camera work and the setting (which gives a documentary type feel), all help the audience to believe that this story probably has happened many times before in America.

The characters and the surroundings are important to this story especially in the case of Leo's temporary home, his car. He sees this as his safe haven, a place where he can escape and be protected from his life and mistakes but at the end of the film the director breaks into Leo's "world" and he's left to deal with someone else's violent act.

The film aks a lot of questions about today's American society and the people we come across. The characters are well written but something lacks in the performance. It doesn't ruin the good writing of the film but what makes this film interesting and appealing is the direction and the feelings it brings to its audiences.

Ultimately it is a classic tale of a deeply unfortunate misunderstanding, brought up to date with the new issues our world has to live with. A good little film well worth the watch.

3 STARS!