by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $12.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Will Ehrenfreund, Graham Poore, Jonny Nichols, Jenny Ziwgard, Graham Poore, Ellen Boscov
Intro:
… a troubled, but still promising, feature debut for its microbudget auteur.
At the 2005 Venice Film Festival, American indie vanguard Steven Soderbergh premiered his film Bubble. It was another solid example of the kind of lo-fi experiments he gets into in-between bigger studio affairs, but it unfortunately failed to recoup its budget, with plans of it starting an impromptu series of similar-designed features being scrapped.
Bottom Feeders, the feature debut of budding filmmaker Vincent D’Alessandro, has some noticeable similarities with Bubble. It is also a low-key depiction of working-class Americana, prominently featuring a love triangle, with the main underlying idea of what people will do to get through the crushing existence of the now. Although, where Bubble took that notion into bloodier areas, Bottom Feeders is more sexually-charged, with its main character, Dmitri (Will Ehrenfreund) dealing with the scarce work culture surrounding him through sex addiction. That man a munch.
It evokes a similar sense of unease at the idea that this is the everyday for the people involved, with a scene where Dmitri’s dad Donnie (Jonny Nichols) bums money off pub patrons to keep playing the pokies, creating what should be nightmarishly familiar vibes for any Australians who tune in. Ehrenfreund as the focal point, building off his and D’Alessandro’s previous collab in Dogfood, continues the writer/director’s fascination with fucked-up relationship dynamics, as his search for some positive stimulus… or really any stimulus, leads him to butting into the relationship of his best friend Benny (Graham Poore) and his girlfriend Jess (Jenny Ziwgard).
While its exploration of reality below the poverty line hits on some palpable angst, like the sweat-inducing attempt Dmitri makes to get unemployment benefits, it doesn’t quite hit the same level of economic urgency as Bubble or even Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland. The thematic focus is primarily put on the sexual tension between the three corners of the triangle, applying some sly tragedy to the idea that this kind of interference on Dmitri’s part… might be the most wholesome thing the guy has access to. It’s romantic in the same way as Being John Malkovich or Phantom Thread, where the actual relationship is rife with psychological sticking points, but the notion of any kind of happiness in that arrangement gives it suitable bittersweetness. Seeing Benny’s grandma (Ellen Boscov) put him through the traditional shame ritual of digging up childhood videos of him for public viewing shows a surprisingly tender heart behind it all.
However, it also runs into a common problem within the American indie scene that, unfortunately, highlights why events like the bursting of Bubble took place – there’s a lack of spark in the film, despite its deeper connotations. Even at under 80 minutes, D’Alessandro visibly struggles with the longer runtime, making the prevailing sense of ennui in the narrative feel like a symptom of a less-than-meaningful aimlessness in its overall construction. There’s also a scene featuring live music that (apologies to Tim Whalen) is frankly unlistenable and only serves to further highlight this film as inherently offputting.
Bottom Feeders is a troubled, but still promising, feature debut for its microbudget auteur. It may lack the kind of emotional impact that D’Alessandro has already shown himself capable of (the ending of his short film Baby is bona fide proof that he knows how to use the medium; it and the rest of his filmography thus far is available right now on his YouTube channel), but its connection with the listless and disaffected still maintains an understanding of the need for smaller-scale stories and, in particular, why the American indie scene’s harnessing of them is such a crucial component of the larger film industry. And hey, in a world where even titans like Soderbergh still regularly struggle for their real passions to be recognised (and, more importantly, funded), productions like this existing at all remain a net-positive for the culture at large.
[…] as a means of escape and pleasure. Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28559816/ Link Review: https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/bottom-feeders/ About movie: https://darkstarpics.com/news/f/exclusive-bottom-feeders-trailer-previews-crime-drama […]