Hot Picks
|
|
|
86 Melrose Avenue
USA 2020
produced by Lili Matta, Jihad Habbaki (executive), Lane Bove (executive), Jijo Reed (executive), Bob Clarke (executive), Langston Fishburne (executive) for Byblos Productions, Sugar Studios LA, Insight Media Fund
directed by Lili Matta
starring Dade Elza, Gregory Zarian, Anastasia Antonia, Michael Polak, Andy Evans, Richard Sabine, Helen Kennedy, Gary Sturm, Jessica Lea Risco, Langston Fishburne, Jim O'Heir, Terri Ivens, Jake Red, Kambra Potter, David M. Edelstien, John Marrs, Caroline Westheimer, Adam Elshar, Eric Seiver, Benjamin Daniel, Jak Wyld, Donald Pitts, Ron Esfandiari, Priyom Haider, Guy A. Grundy, Cambria Elise, Nick Lorenz, Tina Bell, Kostiantyn Vlasenko, Jessica Ghitis, Rene Aranda, Alexandre Wilson, Sam Paynter, Kate Louise Pascoe
written by Lili Matta, music by Robert Revell
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Coming home after a tiring day at work, Afghanistan and Iraq veteran
Travis (Dade Elza) finds his wife Madeline (Kambra Potter) with her old
friend Dallas (Jake Red), whom she promptly invited to dinner. At the
dinner table, the two men get into an argument over the deployment of
American troops to foreign country, a topic Dallas just can't let go
despite Madeline's repeated urges to change the subject as Travis is
suffering from PTSD. Eventually, the argument gets so heated that the two
men start to get into a physical fight, which causes Travis to pull a
handgun, just to scare Dallas off. But Dallas sees this as an invitation
to attack Travis physically, and in the ensuing brawl, the gun goes off
and kills Dallas. Shocked by what he has just done, Travis runs away, gun
still in hand ... It's photographer Nadia's (Anastasia Antonia) big
night as it's the opening of her exhibition at Craig's (Richard Sabine)
gallery, and everyone's there from the town's top art critics to
prospective buyers to who-knows-what-some-of-these-people-are - and
suddenly a madman, Travis, wielding a gun, storms in and takes them all
hostage ... and he really doesn't have a clue what to do with his hostages
as he hasn't planned any of this. He doesn't want to do any of his
hostages any harm, but neither does he want to be shot by the police,
which is likely to happen should the building be stormed - but this makes
him impossible to negotiate with. But while he's holding the people at the
gallery in gunpoint, things show themselves much less black and white as
they first seemed, as many of the hostages have gone through traumatic
experiences of their own, starting with Nadia, who has spent her childhood
in war-torn Lebanon. But does this help the situation or only make it more
explosive ... Now hostage situations have long been a staple of
the crime and thriller genres, which makes it somewhat hard to infuse new
life into a pretty much standard situation - but 86 Melrose Avenue
does pretty well at that, as it focuses not just on the central conflict
on hand but pulls back to paint a bigger picture, one that involves the
fates of several of the hostages in relation to the perpetrator, and even
the art exhibited at the gallery mirrors the goings-on in a way, making
this more than just your standard thriller but also some sort of social
commentary - which is only augmented in the post-finale interviews that
really give the thing substance. And thanks to a relatable cast and a
subtle directorial effort, this has become a very compelling and pretty
unusual movie.
|
|
|