By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: John O'Brien
Starring: George Lyford | Natalie Picoe | Richard Snee
Country: united_states
Year: 2004
Running time: 104
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371021/combined
Barbara says: “This is an offbeat movie with beautiful shots of Vermont scenery and a look at real people. The script is improvised for the most part by the local Vermonters. George Lyford is a 72 year old who has lived in rural Vermont his entire life and he is such a warm and funny person that you just want to invite him into your home. Even though I thought the idea of a New York couple making this sort of move and the wife developing such a friendship with the locals was a bit farfetched, I enjoyed the interplay between the characters and laughed a lot at the phone conversations on the party lines in the town. After watching so many ‘dark’ films this was just fun. 4 Cats.”
Chris says: “This is an incredibly charming little film playing at the Coolidge’s screening room. Natalie, a 30-ish woman and her much older psychiatrist husband move from suburban CT to the small town of Tunbridge, VT. They’ve remodeled an old barn into a McMansion, much to the consternation and curiosity of most of the townsfolk. Eventually, Natalie befriends one of them, George, an elderly farmer whom she hires as a handyman.
“NOSEY PARKER is a real homegrown effort, as director and Tunbridge resident John O’Brien worked with a cast made up of actual Tunbridge denizens. The script is mostly improvised, and you get a sense that these people are more or less playing themselves. And it works beautifully–you walk away sensing what you’ve just seen can’t be faked (although it is technically fiction), and the ‘acting’ rarely seems clunky or off (although I didn’t care much for Natalie’s somewhat creepy husband). The star is undoubtedly George Lyford (who passed away after filming). By way of his engaging personality and genuineness, you can see why anyone wouldwant to befriend him. Due to its lackadaisical pace, I’m not sure if this is a film every one will love (particularly if small town Vermont is your idea of Hell), but I’ll give it at least 4 cats.”
Diane says: “I’ll join my Chlotrudis colleagues in giving NOSEY PARKER 4 cats. Sorry I missed O’Brien’s first in this trilogy about small-town Vermont. Would I be reading this too extremely if I said that Natalie and Richard, with their city sense of superiority, treat George almost like a ‘boy’ on a plantation, while George is the one with superior knowledge of what is needed for a good life?
“I often visit an eighty-year-old friend in northern Vermont who has two jobs. This improvised script really rings true to Vermonters’ sense of self and attitudes.”
Michael says: “Before I review the delightful NOSEY PARKER, I’d like to put a plug in for Gerry Peary’s BU Cinematheque. Roughly each week during the school year, usually on Thursday night, Gerry brings an independent filmmaker to Boston for his classes at BU. He has also opened this terrific opportunity to Chlotrudis members, who until last week, as far as I know, no one has taken advantage of. I would love to see that change, and I think any of you who attended the Cinematheque would agree. I went to my first Cinematheque event last Thursday to see Vermont filmmaker John O’Brien’s NOSEY PARKER, and it was a wonderful experience. What a better way to see a little indie film than with the filmmaker present?
“NOSEY PARKER is the final installment of John O’Brien’s Vermont trilogy, a series of films about his neighbors in a small town in Vermont. Not documentaries, but not quite fiction either, O’Brien had the natives in his hometown play themselves in narrative films that he writes. He started this trilogy with VERMONT IS FOR LOVERS, then caught a little attention beyond the New England region with A MAN WITH A PLAN. The sweet and gentle NOSEY PARKER completes the trilogy, and also features for the first time two professional actors in leading roles.
“Natalie and Richard Newman move from Connecticut to a renovated farmhouse in Tunbridge, VT. This million dollar dreamhouse, remodeled to Natalie’s specifications, draws a wide array of speculation and gossip from the natives of the town. George, and elderly native with a crackling wit, shows up on the Newman’s doorstep as one of three ‘listers,’ town officials who appraise properties for tax assessment. They generally make appointments, but just decided to stop by. Natalie and Richard are slightly put out by this intrusion, and even while George pokes around their things unnoticed, they reschedule the appointment.
“What follows is an unlikely friendship that grows between Natalie, who is lonely in rural Vermont while her husband works at his psychiatry practice, and George, who is at first mildly disdainful of the newcomers, but grows to care for Natalie as they become close. O’Brien’s culture clash story touches on several issues, such as the desire to have children, invasion of privacy, newcomers versus natives, and the exaggerated nature of rumor. The tone of the film effortlessly flows from slapstick humor to tense drama as serious issues are explored. Ultimately the film is an homage to George Lyford, who died a year after filming wrapped. 4 cats
“O’Brien was a terrific guest, talking about his trilogy of films, the completely improvised nature of NOSEY PARKER, and a decline of the true indepedent film in today’s world. It really made affirm my thoughts that Chlotrudis really needs to focus on the little guy, and that the Buried Treasure is really the most important award we give. I intend to push NOSEY PARKER for the Buried Treasure next year, and I’m quite sure John O’Brien would be happy to attend the 2005 Awards Ceremony.”
Carolyn says: “It ended up being a cute story, but it was slow to get going and I didn’t like the acting or the style much. I know the ‘acting’ was with real people, but rather than seeming more realistic it made it seem more forced, especially Natalie. I think her husband did the best and George not being a professional did very well also. 3 cats”