Climbing Higher Pictures

With an original take on the found footage/first person video camera storytelling made mainstream by films like Cloverfield and REC, Fix brings together a small group of friends for a day that will change their lives… and we all get to come along for the ride. Does it rise above convention, or does it fall victim to indie stereotypes and editing nightmares. Find out below:

Fix Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: A-

Well that was a refreshing change of pace. In a fall season packed with bloated popcorn fare and depressingly abysmal Oscar bait pandering, a little movie that could stumbles into the fray with a fairly original premise and a tight-knit cast, ready and willing to take on the world. Having rising star Olivia Wilde, best known for her role as the gorgeous yet terminally ill Dr. Hadley (Thirteen) on House M.D., certainly doesn’t hurt the film’s chances of finding a wider audience, and the filmmakers have done everything they can to avoid the tropes of Hollywood cliché to bring us an endearing and engaging look at a day in the life of a couple working to get their friend into rehab. The fact that the junkie character is based on the director’s own brother adds yet another layer of honesty and integrity to the proceedings, and the shaky handheld camera feels as natural as the blindingly bright Los Angeles sun.

From the moment the film starts, you know this isn’t going to be the same experience you’re used to having in a cinema. The sharp editing, lightning pans, stark contrast, and often incredibly vivid color correction makes the film look like something out of a dream. The wide-angle lenses shrink the whole world into the confines of the frame and land us, sometimes painfully, in the character’s shoes. For those with a working knowledge of California geography, the cast seems to be able to travel great distances at unrealistic speed, even though this allows us to see a lot more interesting places within the timeline of a single day. It’s never distracting, and works to the film’s advantage, as every location seems significantly different from the last. The line between narrative and documentary blurs on several occasions, adding a sense of danger to an already taut plotline. The exposition, in particular, works extremely well with the style of the film, as none of the characters are ever in a position of having to tell the viewer what is going on.

Performance wise, the core cast work together to keep the drama moving. The quest for money to pay for the drug addict’s admission to the rehabilitation center leads his brother, the “director”, and his brother’s girlfriend on a wild goose chase collecting debts, scrapping cars, and trying to sell illicit substances, all while having the time of their lives. You feel like you’re living on the edge while watching the film, and there are some occasions where your eyes will start to feel strained or tired, just from overstimulation of people, places, and sources of light. It feels like you’ve lived through an entire day within the span of 93 minutes and that is an impressive feat. They cram it all in, and the scattershot narrative structure makes the gaps in the timeline completely acceptable. If anything, we get a few too many montage sequences to bridge the gaps, and the strength of the film comes from its quick pacing within the scenes themselves, drawing out the best moments from what I can only assume were plenty of takes. Shawn Andrews comes off the best in his intimate moments, creating the type of person who you’d want to care for and help survive their addiction but who is also perfectly happy to maintain his downward spiral. We believe in him, and the strength of the film comes from how we react to his decisions and where he brings us. Even his nickname, Hermes, is a reference to the guide through the underworld, dragging us through hell in his search for redemption.

No matter what you think of it, the overall results are impressive. An 18-day shooting schedule with a small crew, a determined director, and a story that travels all over California in search of an answer to the most basic of human questions, “Can a person change for the better?” results in a wonderful little film, the kind of movie you’d never be able to make through the labyrinth of traditional Hollywood. The filmmaker’s are looking to self distribute the film in a handful of major cities throughout the country, so New Yorker’s are in for a treat over the next week or so. Get out there and see it if you can, you just might find your hope in the medium restored.