By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Ramaa Mosely
Starring: Alexis Bledel | Alia Shawkat | Ben Rappaport | Billy Magnussen | Juno Temple | Lucy Walters | Michael Angarano | Steve Park
Country: united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 100
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935902/
Bruce says: “Ramaa Mosely describes THE BRASS TEAPOT as a film about consumerism, love, relationships, shifting values and magical realism. That pretty much covers it, except for the violence. More about that later.
“John (Michael Angarano) and Alice (Juno Temple) are young adults who are out of synch with their peers. Many of their friends are prospering; they are barely surviving. Kids they grew up with now shun them at parties. Sex is their main pleasure. They are obviously very much in love. When John is late to work his boss gives him a lecture on Productivity, Performance and Punctuality. John makes a slur about ‘Damn Republicans,’ and his boss says ‘Don’t sass me and my party.’ It’s obvious John is not going to be employed for long. Alice is a graduate with an art history degree that is practically useless when all jobs are scarce. Prospective employers scoff at her lack of working experience.
“One day the couple is driving through the countryside and stumble upon an antique store. Alice finds a brass teapot that she quickly steals when the old lady who runs the store isn’t looking. Shortly thereafter she accidentally hurts herself and the teapot begins to spout money. Alice keeps hurting herself purposefully and there soon is money everywhere. ‘How did you hurt yourself, honey?’ John asks. ‘I fell down the stairs,’ Alice quickly replies without thinking. ‘We don’t have stairs,’ John counters. Alice is forced to confess. ‘It’s a gift from the gods,’ she positions. ‘This could end badly’ John says. ‘It came to us for a reason,’ she says. Soon both John and Alice are harming themselves in every possible way. They are up to their ears in money.
“Before long they have bought a McMansion in the very best neighborhood. They throw parties and are suddenly the ‘now couple.’ Alice takes the teapot to the Antiques Roadshow when it comes to town. Exposure, as it turns out, was not a great idea. A mysterious Korean man arrives to tell them the truth about the teapot. They couple is soon being hunted down by more than one person who has claim on the teapot or wants it for unknown purposes. Things are not going to end well.
“THE BRASS TEAPOT is a cautionary tale for sure. There is a lot of talk about evil but what happens has not so much to do with evil as it does with violence. For me that is very disturbing, confusing the two. Juno Temple and Michael Angarano make an adorable couple. While surfing the Internet for material for film ideas, Ramaa Mosely stumbled upon the short story on which the film is based. She contacted Tim Macy who had already received other offers for the rights. He felt Ramaa was the right one to bring his story to the screen. Macy also wrote the screenplay. 3.5 cats
“(THE BRASS TEAPOT screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.)”