Calgary International Film Festival Mini - Reviews Part III
Six Figures
Director: David Christensen
Cast: JR Bourne, Caroline Cave, Deborah Grover, Frank Adamson, Joyce
Gordon, Brooklynn Proulx
This was the first movie I saw at the CIFF earlier this year. I chose
it in part because it was made by a Calgarian and shot in Calgary (in
my neighbourhood as it turns out). While I really wanted to like the
film I felt like I was watching a CBC special on TV more than a feature
film.
The story revolves around Warner (Bourne) a good guy who is a little
down on his luck and is starting to feel pressures at home and at work
to provide a better life for his family. Warner gets into an argument
with his wife just before she is attacked by an unknown assailant and
suspicion is cast on him.
The story itself was interesting and manages to keep you guessing even
after the movie is over. There are no easy answers provided. The acting
in the film was also quite good. All the leads give good performances
and Brooklynn Proulx as the young daughter shows that she has a
promising career ahead of her. I also enjoyed the performances by
Adamson and Gordon as Warner's parents.
For me though the film lacked the ability to pull the audience into the
movie and make us care about these characters. A big part of the
problem was that the director chose to shoot a lot of the scenes
without close ups choosing instead to arrange the shots further back
than we're used to. I think by doing this he didn't take advantage of
the greatest advantages that movies have. The effect was that I almost
felt I was watching a play rather than a movie.
Another weakness was the overall blandness of the look in the film.
Everything felt a little washed out due to the colours used. Its hard
to explain but the film was sort of a dull beige throughout. This,
combined with the lack of a powerful score left me feeling that there
was something missing in the movie. Overall though it's a good, though
not great, debut for Christensen as a director.
© 2005 Review by Son Tran
