By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Ted Geoghegan
Starring: Anne Ramsay | Ezra Buzzington | Jeremy Holm | Larry Fessenden | Ron E. Rains
Year: 2023
Running time: 89
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16431882/reference/
Brett says: “A person kills herself/himself and then a stage play breaks out. So, it’s Chekhov or Ibsen in reverse, right? Throw in a seance to bring back said dead person from the grave and BROOKLYN 45 might just fit that bill.
“It’s post-World War II, but some characters in this cast are still living life as if it weren’t. This is obvious plot point number one in making this a film criticizing America now juxtaposed against America then. More on that in a moment. In New York, five individuals gather on the heels of a tragic suicide for what is presumed to be a time of consolation at a dinner party for the deceased’s husband. However, after some introspection, the husband really has planned to use the guests to get to the bottom of his wife’s strange self-demise by summoning her roundtable-style.
“The film takes place in one location (a parlor) the entire time and features a lot more character-to-character dialogue than action to develop the the eerie undercurrent. There are some visual effects to serve as halo moments for the mood that’s being swelled throughout, but make no mistake, the plot is stage-play-esque throughout as each person clears cobwebs from their respective military pasts, and the only non-military-affiliated character undergoes some of his own self-examination in the, ahem, wake of the events at hand.
“Back to an earlier point, the circular dialogue all really pivots around one issue: American xenophobia. As much as the film pretends to be subtle with some aspects of this (and some it, they’re pretty direct about), there are only so many cycles of the same talking points–or yelling points–before one just needs someone to do something to substantially progress to another developing plot hook. That is not to say the film is altogether wrong about its attention to America’s needs for social progress, but my goodness is this heavy-handed. The character points of progression are very telegraphed, so the few attempts at surprise are significantly dulled by the dramatic slog it took to get there.
“That said, most of the defining lines between enjoyment of this picture and the opposite reaction lie in one’s appreciation of dramatic actors doing their thing under three-point camera lighting rather than stage lights. If the former is appealing, then there is a good chance this will be an enjoyable character study and ride. Among the many things that cinematic language does, however, that doesn’t have to be endured on stage is having to witness a seconds-long point-of-view shot staring at the American flag to beat home the overbearing point.
“2 cats out of 5“