1. Indyfan

   9

   I actually really liked this film - the first Facebook generation thriller. It's great to see a truly indy film in the theaters. And this one carries the banner well. The cast of fine actors who've somehow remained largely under the radar delivers that rare combo of masterful acting AND faces that don't keep reminding you that you are watching a movie. The script that actually covers new ground and is a full on entertainment. Pacing could be slightly tighter here and there, but not very often. Definitely worth the trip to the theater.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
2. nicholehastings

   9

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. How slow can you go? The pacing, the visual tone, the dialogue as the characters reveal themselves and their relationships to each other, yet leave you asking so many questions, all blesh together into a rocking rhythm, much like Brahms: Intermezzo in A, Op. 118, No. 2.
   
   For those who enjoy a lovely slow burn, the gentle roll and the drowsy pulse draw you in, capturing your attention with its intimacy in the mundane. As a result, this film will not be to everyone's taste, especially not to some Americans who tend to favor the high speed chase, violent explosions and witty diatribe. They may not have the patience to realize the Director's vision as he slow rolls his examination of the dissolution of a man who 'gets' away with it'.
   
   There is no conclusion. This film takes its viewers on a woeful and deliberately slow-paced journey of the unraveling of one man's life, and the collateral damage affecting those around him, as he goes from youthful peaked fame to a mundane existence to non-existence as he disappears into oblivion. In the end, one must ask oneself, "Is it better to burn out than to fade away?"… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.
3. pcany

   8

   Saw the genre-bending BRIEF REUNION at THE QUAD CINEMA in NYC. What I liked best and which most of the crew of critics completely missed in their rush to apply niche keywords to this first feature-length effort by John Daschbach is the great skill with which the director puts his characters through their paces in the fractured unraveling of an enigmatic and complex mystery (The 70s work of English directors Nicolas Roeg and John Schlesinger come to mind). Daschbach also places his people in a lush atmosphere of lakes, country houses and green meadows at summer’s height. The landscapes he chooses, vividly photographed by Joseph Foley, virtually shimmer in spots. The locations undertake as much a role in the course of the story as the actors. They bely the chicanery, evasion, mayhem and murder that ultimately occurs while at the same time foretelling it. In this way BRIEF REUNION works against expectation and more importantly, convention. The film rightly avoids the boilerplate smash cut storytelling so prevalent these days and takes its time. The characters breathe and the effect is that tension, foreboding and turmoil slowly build. Our discomfort grows incrementally with the characters on the screen. At film’s end we are surprised to find out whom we have and haven’t been rooting for.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.

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