Indie Film Review “Greatland”

Author OneFilmFan

Published on: May 14, 2021

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

WATCH THE FILM HERE or HERE

First, the Recap:

Compulsory obedience paired with indoctrinated attitudes enforced by tyrannical leadership. Sounds like the perfect society, right? I mean, who doesn’t wish to find themselves no more than a puppet to the whims of an all-powerful voice that speaks and enforces the rules while attempting to mask it under a façade of all-encompassing–fun & love??!! It is in such a place that resides restless and overtly inquisitive teenager Ulysses (Arman Darbo) who harbors within him a growing sense of (understandable!!) rebelliousness towards the supposed “tranquil”, “loving” culture he’s a part of. Soon, when his best friend Ugly Duck (Chloe Ray Warmoth) runs afoul of the masters of this reality known as Greatland, it becomes his own personal odyssey to see not only himself and her set free from the warped life they’re trapped in, but also reveal the true face of his own past and a world gone utterly, insanely mad.

Next, my Mind:

In the going on seven years I’ve been a film critic, six plus of which has been immersion within the independent film arena, I am not totally sure I can say that I’ve ever quite seen a feature film effort that was this madcap, outlandish, absurd, bizarre, loopy, nutty, freaky, bonkers, far-out, irreverent, and cuckoo yet SOMEHOW in its warped absurdity, an eerily fantastic, revealing, relatable, wholly eccentric, and dare I say–original–glimpse into the actualities of our present society and the ills that are so overtly rampant in it. With a 104-minute runtime, the film as delivered to us by writer/director Dana Ziyasheva and producer Igor Darbo certainly allows itself full reign over the chaotic nonsense presented, but with an underlying intentionality that just MIGHT shock you more than the visual mayhem you attempt to witness and bear with the entire time.

Very much taking on a completely unorthodox treatment of the entire concept of dystopian worlds, we’re treated to a reality where the populace is separated between the familiar “haves and haves-not”, but all inhabiting the garish, carnival/circus-style realm called Greatland. Constantly being bombarded by a supreme overseer’s voice that forcibly encourages nothing but fun and love (it’s an altogether wacky hippy commune times infinity!!), they even must face the ridiculousness of a currently running election between–a dog and a cat??!! One teenage boy chooses to go against the kaleidoscopically off-center status quo in the name of questioning authority, its motives, saving a valued friend, discovering hidden truths, and rectifying the treatment of those deemed “less fortunate” or any form of “less than a Great”, upending everything and creating an anomaly the ruling regime must prevent. Suddenly, in so many admittedly scary ways, this is starting to sound awfully recognizable.

And THIS is where I cannot deny the film is rather–genius??–in that looking beyond its undoubtedly prevalent, often hard to sit through weirdness there unequivocally lies a plethora of thematic wonders that mirror so many of our world’s current issues and the subsequent bedlam they manifest. Covering notions of interracial love (even interspecies love, which I won’t get into!), immortality, “curing” people who aren’t “the norm”, tolerance, diversity, inclusiveness, fanaticism, objectification of women, political divides, reliance on technology and being prisoners to it rather than masters of it, distractions caused by it all, and passing the torch of a burned out world onto the next generation, it’s one huge statement about this modern day we’re residing in, like it or not. It paints a vivid and uncompromising portrait of our own faults, definitely not pulling any punches when it comes to the various groups, demeanors, appearances, etc of the people the narrative unflinchingly goes after. If there’s legitimate controversary out there about this film, I could see why. By the time the film reaches it’s quite volatile finale, it punches you square in the jaw with the realities of a nation gone astray that reverberates all too well in the times we live now.

Heck, they even take the already outrageously loony election being portrayed and draw some very pointed comparisons to a certain other election season we’re all TOO aware of ourselves. No one likes being confronted with their shortcomings, whether individually or as a nation, but I must say, this film hits on those elements above with a candidness and unapologetic intent that would step on many toes I have no doubt, hence why I mentioned above that controversary could be this effort’s middle name. Visually it’s a mind-blowingly cacophonic exercise in both glaring simplicity, practical effects, and some instances of CGI, all of which suit the film to a “T” and hence why I honestly cannot necessarily just rag on the spartan nature of the set pieces, props, and grander settings (which weren’t all bad, mind you) because it just WORKS for this insanity. Quirky costuming dominates most of the characters we see here, but once more, this is more purposeful than “we have NO actual budget to speak of”.

What now makes me undeniably chuckle is that any sense of “normalcy” in this production ultimately arrives first through Darbo as the initially quiet, non-conformist-turned-blatant-insurgent-against-all-that-is- “holy”-in-the-pretentious-actuality-he-resides-in teenager named Ulysses (yes, the name does in itself get tied to a certain literary masterpiece, just saying) who soon begins to act up when his best friend is taken and he decides enough is enough. Striking out thorough both physical and proverbial actions to seek the answers he needs, Ulysses runs into all manner of obstacles to his quest, battles his own self-doubts, faces his demons, and ends up learning what might doom their culture–or save it. Throughout, Darbo perfectly exudes that apropos level of teenage bravado, angst, impulsiveness, and deeply inquisitiveness that suits the character’s plight, and even moments where it might have been taken into the domain of OVERacting at times, Darbo’s performance still makes the film viewable to the right degree.

Warmoth also allows us to feel some semblance of remote lucidity and sanity via her role as Ugly Duck, the best friend of Ulysses and effectively the primary influence that has him needing to find the explanations and resolutions to their society’s ills, even as she herself has been part of a family torn apart by scandal and punishment. Even as Ugly Duck tries to persuade Ulysses to give into the attitudes and demeanors she feels he should, her own self-worth and future remain in question. When a tragedy hits her more directly and events cause her to be stolen away from the confines of Greatland’s heart, what she comes to find about herself and the world she starts to believe she was meant for presents a newly formed challenge that will potentially put Greatland’s needed changes in place. It’s a subtle, nuanced performance given by Warmoth that fully endears you to her character, making you root for her amidst all the other nuttiness that ensues. This is a real credit to the actress, along with Darbo, for infusing SOMETHING accessible into the film.

Primary supporting roles arrive through Nick Moran as the Clerk, a key figure for Ulysses’ adventure, Eric Roberts as the Alpha Altruist, a high-level authority who’s proclivities and ethics are slightly “off”, Jackie Loeb as Lady Omega, a woman of serious ambition whose influence on Greatland is quite expansive, Donzell Lewis as Greatland’s highly unconventional “priest”, and Storm Wilbur as Ulysses’ pal Patrick who has a rather–odd–marriage. Additional supporting appearances are made by Nhya Cedon, Ellen Clifford, Paige Tierney, Ryan Simantel, Bill Oberst Jr., Shannon Briggs, Camille Curtis, Zach Guerrero, Jesse Heiman, Reginald James, J.P. Manoux, Tzef Montana, Rosie Okumura, Spencer Paez, Santana Ramires, and Ian M. White. In total, “Greatland” will NOT at ALL be for everyone, a twisted fairy tale with overt craziness, low production value, and sheer length having to endure such amounts of said kookiness will most likely turn a lot of people off. But, for those who dare, there’s a socially relevant statement being perpetrated here, and it ends up being applaudable that Ziyasheva and Co. would even have the boldness and audacity to put this out there for the masses to consider. Folks, it so many respects, that is more than often the definition of indie film.