Although it's certainly not perfect, it's the imperfections that makes it not only such a delight, but also a beacon of hope, at least for me, for the future of filmmaking.
Over the last few decades Hollywood has become incredibly good at making franchise blockbusters, even saving the granddaddy of them all, Star Wars, by takingp, jaw dropping CGI, honoring the source magic as had been applied to the Marvel Universe, Star Trek and Transformers.
Hollywood has also perfected the art of the sequel. If a movie was even a mild success you could expect part 2, 3, 4 and even part 9.
Huge effects and sequels or remakes lather rinse repeat. And don't get me wrong, there's only a couple of these giant franchises I don't enjoy. *cough cough Transformers cough cough* BUT you can only eat from a giant box of bonbons before you need something real, a glass of water or milk, to settle your nausea and bring you back to earth from your sugar high.
So, with all that said, Braking For Whales is that something real to bring you back to earth, back into your body and show you the human experience can be quite a treat as well.
Time was the gigantic thrill ride mega picture was few and far between. Now they're the majority of releases. So, to see this film with nary an explosion, space alien, or superhero get made and made beautifully makes me so excited as well as grateful that there are signs of life coming from the long feared abandoned and forgotten, and arguably what made Hollywood what it is: a good human experience driven story.
Because there are too many chances for spoilers by describing too much of the storyline let me just say Tom Felton, Draco Malfoy of the huge Harry Potter franchise, settles the question if, as an adult, he can act. The answer is yes, yes he can. Quite well as a matter of a fact. He's able to find the humor as well as the struggles of his character as he unflinchingly plays a man running away from, while also searching for, himself.
Tammin Sursok, best known for playing blind girl Jenna Marshal on ABC's Pretty Little Liars (and who said one of my all time favorite lines " I may not be able to see, but I can smell a b***h a mile away.") plays Felton's sister as well as co-wrote the script with husband and the film's director Sean McEwen. Ms. Sursok has proven her comedy chops already with her hilarious internet show "Aussie Girl" (if you haven't seen it, do. You won't be sorry.) but in "Braking" she's able to show us there is a really great dramatic actress in there as well. Before we even know what's troubling Star, the character she plays, Ms. Sursok is already knee deep in fleshing out her character and shows us there's dark shadows that follow the aptly named bright light, party girl Star without saying a word - and brother that ain't easy.
As this is a road movie Felton and Sursok are the only characters that we see through the entire film leaving room however for some great cameos along the way from the likes of the always hilarious Wendy McLendon and David Koechner as their ultra conservative aunt and uncle. Another cameo which may total 10 minutes of the film but is one of the strongest and bravest performances I've seen is a long time is given by Austin Swift who, after this film, will no longer have to have "Taylor Swift's brother" follow his name.
Lastly is the director and co-writer Sean McEwen and probably the biggest reason for the high star rating. As stated earlier this film isn't perfect. For example the editing could be a bit tighter here and there (a dance sequence early in the film could be cut in half) and a little more back story on Felton's character helping viewers understand the source of his issue probably would have helped.
The film often feels like it can't decide if it's a family drama, a screwball comedy or a light road trip indie BUT under the direction of Mr. McEwen all is forgiven, and this is where all the stars come from. In this day and age without doing something like developing entirely new imaging software alá James Cameron for Avatar it's pretty much impossible to bring anything "new" to filmmaking. Sure you can add lens flares everywhere and make the explosions bigger and the stunts more extreme but that's still just adding on to something that already exists.
What McEwen has done is he's created a "look" with this film that hasn't been seen before. Like a vintage old Kodak camera Instagram filter but with richer colors, softer/more diffused lighting and yet a clarity that allows the character's humanity to shine through "Braking For Whales" is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. It feels like Mr. McEwen is aware of the new, lush beauty he's created and often throughout the film he does us a favor and like an art gallery that has hung art work along the highway we travel with our main characters McEwen stops the forward momentum of the story line and allows us to look at the art along the way. One "art piece" I remember in particular was a shot of the top half of a Ferris wheel with a setting sun, red velvet at the bottom graduating into navy blue velvet at the top is the sky in the background with in the foreground the Ferris wheel's spokey outline rests thick in the sky.
Not only are these "art" moments beautiful but like Sursok being able to show us a terrible hurt lies below her fun exterior without saying a word to tell us that, McEwen creates mood and is able to let the audience know and feel certain things that are hard to put into words. He conjures specific moments from our collective past that I feel has the effect of not only the viewers suspension of disbelief but also has them become personally invested in the film. McEwen pulls those old, creepy in a good way, childhood "feels" out and paints with them leaving theater goers wondering if the film was actually a dream they'd just had.
"Braking for Whales" is a charming, funny, emotional, and heartwarming film with two lesser known actors but who with this film show why that will no longer be the case and although the film has its bumps along the way just the fact Sean McEwen has been able to bring something new to the industry makes me so excited to see as he learns abd grows as a filmmaker what he's going to accomplish and we can all say we saw it here first.
Over the last few decades Hollywood has become incredibly good at making franchise blockbusters, even saving the granddaddy of them all, Star Wars, by takingp, jaw dropping CGI, honoring the source magic as had been applied to the Marvel Universe, Star Trek and Transformers.
Hollywood has also perfected the art of the sequel. If a movie was even a mild success you could expect part 2, 3, 4 and even part 9.
Huge effects and sequels or remakes lather rinse repeat. And don't get me wrong, there's only a couple of these giant franchises I don't enjoy. *cough cough Transformers cough cough* BUT you can only eat from a giant box of bonbons before you need something real, a glass of water or milk, to settle your nausea and bring you back to earth from your sugar high.
So, with all that said, Braking For Whales is that something real to bring you back to earth, back into your body and show you the human experience can be quite a treat as well.
Time was the gigantic thrill ride mega picture was few and far between. Now they're the majority of releases. So, to see this film with nary an explosion, space alien, or superhero get made and made beautifully makes me so excited as well as grateful that there are signs of life coming from the long feared abandoned and forgotten, and arguably what made Hollywood what it is: a good human experience driven story.
Because there are too many chances for spoilers by describing too much of the storyline let me just say Tom Felton, Draco Malfoy of the huge Harry Potter franchise, settles the question if, as an adult, he can act. The answer is yes, yes he can. Quite well as a matter of a fact. He's able to find the humor as well as the struggles of his character as he unflinchingly plays a man running away from, while also searching for, himself.
Tammin Sursok, best known for playing blind girl Jenna Marshal on ABC's Pretty Little Liars (and who said one of my all time favorite lines " I may not be able to see, but I can smell a b***h a mile away.") plays Felton's sister as well as co-wrote the script with husband and the film's director Sean McEwen. Ms. Sursok has proven her comedy chops already with her hilarious internet show "Aussie Girl" (if you haven't seen it, do. You won't be sorry.) but in "Braking" she's able to show us there is a really great dramatic actress in there as well. Before we even know what's troubling Star, the character she plays, Ms. Sursok is already knee deep in fleshing out her character and shows us there's dark shadows that follow the aptly named bright light, party girl Star without saying a word - and brother that ain't easy.
As this is a road movie Felton and Sursok are the only characters that we see through the entire film leaving room however for some great cameos along the way from the likes of the always hilarious Wendy McLendon and David Koechner as their ultra conservative aunt and uncle. Another cameo which may total 10 minutes of the film but is one of the strongest and bravest performances I've seen is a long time is given by Austin Swift who, after this film, will no longer have to have "Taylor Swift's brother" follow his name.
Lastly is the director and co-writer Sean McEwen and probably the biggest reason for the high star rating. As stated earlier this film isn't perfect. For example the editing could be a bit tighter here and there (a dance sequence early in the film could be cut in half) and a little more back story on Felton's character helping viewers understand the source of his issue probably would have helped.
The film often feels like it can't decide if it's a family drama, a screwball comedy or a light road trip indie BUT under the direction of Mr. McEwen all is forgiven, and this is where all the stars come from. In this day and age without doing something like developing entirely new imaging software alá James Cameron for Avatar it's pretty much impossible to bring anything "new" to filmmaking. Sure you can add lens flares everywhere and make the explosions bigger and the stunts more extreme but that's still just adding on to something that already exists.
What McEwen has done is he's created a "look" with this film that hasn't been seen before. Like a vintage old Kodak camera Instagram filter but with richer colors, softer/more diffused lighting and yet a clarity that allows the character's humanity to shine through "Braking For Whales" is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. It feels like Mr. McEwen is aware of the new, lush beauty he's created and often throughout the film he does us a favor and like an art gallery that has hung art work along the highway we travel with our main characters McEwen stops the forward momentum of the story line and allows us to look at the art along the way. One "art piece" I remember in particular was a shot of the top half of a Ferris wheel with a setting sun, red velvet at the bottom graduating into navy blue velvet at the top is the sky in the background with in the foreground the Ferris wheel's spokey outline rests thick in the sky.
Not only are these "art" moments beautiful but like Sursok being able to show us a terrible hurt lies below her fun exterior without saying a word to tell us that, McEwen creates mood and is able to let the audience know and feel certain things that are hard to put into words. He conjures specific moments from our collective past that I feel has the effect of not only the viewers suspension of disbelief but also has them become personally invested in the film. McEwen pulls those old, creepy in a good way, childhood "feels" out and paints with them leaving theater goers wondering if the film was actually a dream they'd just had.
"Braking for Whales" is a charming, funny, emotional, and heartwarming film with two lesser known actors but who with this film show why that will no longer be the case and although the film has its bumps along the way just the fact Sean McEwen has been able to bring something new to the industry makes me so excited to see as he learns abd grows as a filmmaker what he's going to accomplish and we can all say we saw it here first.