By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Joe Swanberg
Starring: Adam Wingard | Caroline White | Helen Rogers | Mike Brune | Simon Barrett | Sophia Takal
Country: united_states
Year: 2014
Running time: 80
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2082156/combined
Jason says: “How prolific is independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg? His latest movie (as a director) started showing up on the festival circuit before his prior one hit theaters, and DRINKING BUDDIES wasn’t nearly as slow in moving through the system as one he appears in, YOU’RE NEXT, was. The latter movie is likely to be linked to this one for some, as its director and writer are in front of the camera here, playing characters that they themselves inspired. It makes 24 EXPOSURES a curiosity, although it’s not bad for those not exactly familiar with all the off-screen connections.
“Billy (Wingard) and Michael (Barrett) both deal with dead bodies in their course of work, making them and cleaning them up, respectively. Billy’s probably not a serial killer, though – he’s a photographer who specializes in creating images designed to look like murders and suicides. It’s the murder of a model that causes their paths to cross, where the detective going through a tough divorce encounters not just Michael, but his girlfriend and collaborator Alex (Caroline White), model Callie (Sophia Takal), and Rebecca (Helen Rogers), a waitress he’s trying to get to pose for him, albeit one with a very possessive boyfriend (Mike Brune).
“Swanberg plays with the line between reality and art quite a bit in this movie, as the audience is never quite sure whether the camera lingering on a dead young woman is going to pan over to Michael and some other cops arriving on the scene or pull back to show Billy and his crew making sure everything is just right for the photograph. It’s an interesting sort of comment on how we as an audience react to violence in our entertainment, with the exact same images producing horror or cheers depending on context. It’s a neat trick that thankfully doesn’t get overused enough that the implicit accusation makes Billy into a monster.
“The line blurs further; Billy and Michael are intended to be versions of the people playing them (Wingard is a filmmaker drawn to dark subject matter; Barrett was a detective before succeeding as a writer), and much of the cast has worked together in various capacities before. The result, especially given Swanberg’s tendency to not write a script but rather let his actors improvise everything, is a bit of a mixed bag: Wingard and Barrett are not primarily actors, and it shows, but a situation where they are less acting than pretending, their closeness to the characters at least gives their scenes a fair amount of authenticity. The actresses playing against them manage to capture the same unconstructed vibe, especially newcomer Caroline White as the
girlfriend who is grounded enough to handle nuts-and-bolts stuff for the artistic Billy. Sophia Takal and Helen Rogers play an interesting pair of opposites, with Rogers’ Rebecca shy but tempted and Takal’s Callie rather headstrong.
“As mentioned, Swanberg tends to have his cast improvise a great deal of his movies, and while that has the benefit of giving the characters distinctive voices, it’s not always conducive to making something as plot-oriented as a murder mystery or erotic thriller. Sure, in his mind this movie was about examining the dynamic of the Wingard/Barrett team, but I don’t know that he discovers anything particularly revelatory there. The set-up of the cheerful erotic photographer and the depressed detective whose paths cross on a homicide investigation is at least interesting, as are the women floating around Billy. That may be my biggest issue, though – there is a lot to that half of the story and very little to the other. It’s kind of the point – Billy’s problems are due to excessive socialization while Michael’s are down to too little – but there should be something to keep the bigger character from taking over an improvised movie, as well as give it solid ending.
“Full disclosure: I saw 24 EXPOSURES less than 24 hours after YOU’RE NEXT, with Swanberg on-hand to talk about both, and found it particularly intriguing as a companion piece. On its own, it makes for an interesting mumblecore-ish take on genre material, even if it does occasionally show how those two things are not easily compatible. 4 cats
“Seen 4 August 2013 in Salle de Sève (Fantasia Festival: Camera Lucida, HD).”
Kyle says: “24 EXPOSURES is a modest little indie thriller about a photographer who shoots ‘personal fetish photos’ with more breasts on display than an entire season of GAME OF THRONES, featuring a nasty subplot involving young women being murdered that is cued by a blatantly ominous soundtrack. One may figure out who is the villain and where the brief running time is heading before the movie comes to a quick close, wisely not overstaying its welcome. The most interesting character is a deeply conflicted young policeman whose personal life is in a shambles, and whose professional life is not much better. Writer
and director Joe Swanberg is clearly talented, and one looks forward to his future works. 3 cats
“Tuesday, September 9, 2014, on Netflix, New York.”
| 24 Exposures (USA; 80 min.) directed by: starring: |
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