[yasr_overall_rating]
An all-star cast headlines this touching, critically-acclaimed story about a young man who, after falling off a roof at a New Year’s party, decides it’s time to make some changes in his life, such as reconnecting with his son and falling in love.
Director John Cassavetes was a filmmaker who shot his movies in a very unorthodox manner. He didn’t care about stars who were full of themselves and thrived on their image, instead, he worked with real actors, performers who weren’t afraid to bare their soul onscreen and the movie world was a better place because of him. Hollywood wasn’t ready for his particular style, handheld camera shots, natural lighting and actors who were encouraged to improvise freely but over time, more and more independent filmmakers, including his own son Nick Cassavetes (“Unhook the Stars, “The Notebook”), would come to discover his progressive filmmaking strategy and adopt it as their own.
Stephen Suettinger exemplifies Cassavetes’ modus operandi and incorporates it seamlessly into his feature-film directorial debut, “A Year and Change.” He uses the handheld approach but achieves it in such a manner that is not jarring to the audience (yes, I’m looking at you Blair Witch) and integrates a natural lighting ambience that achieves its desired effect. However, the real star of the film, is the enthusiastic and undeniably charismatic cast. Never once do you feel like you’re watching actors perform, on the contrary, you feel like a fly on the wall belonging to real people, observing everything that’s going on and at times, feeling just a little guilty for doing so. I can’t remember the last time I was this impressed by a movie overall.
As the story begins, we are introduced to Owen (Bryan Greenberg), a vending machine proprietor who is spending New Year’s Eve at a friend’s house. After quickly becoming drunk, he unwisely makes his way onto the roof of the house to get away from the crowd and accidentally falls, breaking his arm in the process. He winds up at the ER and as he begins to sober up, he realizes that everyone around him is surrounded by family and friends and he is alone. His ex-wife Cindy (Kat Foster) is threatening to take a job offer in San Diego, thereby taking his young son Adam (Drew Shugart) with her and away from him because he is not a very good father, in fact, he’s not a very good person.
Owen suffers from the ‘high school mentality’; getting drunk with his friends every night, engaging regularly in casual sex and forgetting his son’s baseball games but the fall from the roof has apparently knocked some sense into him. He gradually quits drinking and while at a party one night, he meets Vera (Claire van der Boom), a beautiful, recently-divorced woman and while they initially hit it off, she is very reluctant to become romantically involved as she has no desire to invest her time and energy in a possible rebound relationship. Having just broken up with an ex himself, he feels the same and they become friends.
On the other side of town, Owen’s cousin Kenny (T.R. Knight) runs an old record store where they hang out regularly. Kenny likes to flirt with many of the young teenage girls that enter his establishment and this quickly becomes his downfall as he is accused by one of them of getting her drunk and sexually assaulting her. Naturally he denies this and Owen is quick to come to his defense, having known him his entire life but after his brother Victor (Marshall Allman) educates him about an incident that happened a few years prior, Owen suddenly sees him in a brand new light and must come to the realization that the person he thought he knew, is actually an imposter, disguised as a friendly face.
The movie offers a diverse narrative, filled with moments of levity and tragedy that never once feels fabricated. Some movies have the overwhelming desire to set up an interesting plot and then gradually, infuse it with melodramatic, intertwining storylines only for it to culminate in a frivolous and unsatisfactory conclusion. The arc of the story is Owen’s maturity and him realizing that the people he calls friends are really leeches that only care about partying in his large, empty house that was left to him by his parents. Once he comprehends this, his life begins to change for the better but this is accomplished progressively, just like real life. The compulsion to want to speed everything up just because it’s a movie is masterfully restrained by director Stephen Suettinger who allows each character the necessary breathing room one would expect in their given situations.
Bryan Greenberg and Claire van der Boom have undeniable onscreen chemistry and you root for them the whole way through. They are that couple you look at and immediately know they were meant to be together. Both are outstanding in their respective roles, delivering excellent performances that never feel forced. They are surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast that only reinforces the film as a whole. T.R. Knight is virtually unrecognizable in his role as the conflicted Kenny, a far cry from his “Grey’s Anatomy” days and immerses himself fully in the character, interjecting moments of occasional humor and calamity. “A Year and Change” is a welcome relief from the big-budget blockbusters that have bombarded us all summer long and I can only hope that Mr. Suettinger’s next film will be as rewarding and gratifying as this. John Cassavetes would be proud.
Available on DVD November 24th
A well written review James – I was undecided after seeing the film – will give it 2 * out of 5 for now but will watch it again after reading your comments.
Hi Stephen, thanks for your kind words. When I sat down to watch the movie, I knew little about it and just loved how it unfolded and the character arcs throughout.