No. 55 (2022) SUNDOWN July 15th.

 

Film No. 55 (2022)  July  15th.  6.50 PM   Cinema 6.  LUNA,  Leederville.

 

"You left me with all of our problems. You're hiding!" (Alice reminds Neil of their predicament and her perception of his role thus far).

Have you ever been completely beguiled by a film? You've loved that film because of it's unique quality, but know that there are few people to whom you could recommend it as a must-see? For me, SUNDOWN is that film. The realism depicting 3 weeks in the life of a man we will find difficult to connect with doesn't sound like a great way to spend 105 minutes in a cinema. Put simply, it's not a terribly appealing premise, I agree, but if you stick with it you might be surprised; I was.

Tim Roth fans, I'm sure, will be keen to catch SUNDOWN. Hopefully you won't be there because of your love for the way Roth deliverers dialogue. He does little of that. It's all a part of the mystery that surrounds Neil. Director Michael Franco (NEW ORDER 2020) is the master of introducing audiences to mysterious characters. In APRIL'S DAUGHTER (2017) he gave us a pregnant teenager hell-bent on keeping her condition secret. Here, in Neil, he presents another polarising character. 

So what is it with Neil? With every scene Franco cleverly unveils clues as to the predicament of our mystery man.

The short time we holiday with him in Acapulco will have you guessing from the very first image (freshly caught, gasping fish) to the final wide shot of a wind-swept Pacific ocean meeting the shore. The film's promotional blurb suggests no two people will interpret SUNDOWN the same way. The film stimulated me enough to think about Neil, this shell of a man that was Neil Bennett, for days afterwards.  10GUMS.