WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
There’s a darkness in the human soul, whether we choose to admit it or not, a sense of self-preservation when harsh circumstances are stacked against us that initiates potentially radical actions and attitudes to, ideally, “save” ourselves. When such instances occur, however, do we face this head on, to conquer it and move forward–or repress it and accept internal oblivion? Sitting in muted silence while being interrogated by police detectives Hastings (Katie Wallack) and Maxwell (Anthony Jensen), Willie (Paul Elia) finally begins recounting the events which occurred on a camping trip taken with five childhood friends–Dawson (Tyler Ritter), Cooper (Ryan Vincent), Jack (Travis Quentin Young), Richie (Nino Aldi), and Leech (Eric Michael Roy)–into the far backwoods of Northern Minnesota’s “Boundary Waters” region.
At first, their fellowship is filled with the typical crass banter, recollections of days gone by, blatantly barbed pokes at their respective lives and lifestyles, and overall acknowledgement that it is time to relax, party and be boys again. But, when three other individuals also arrive, at Leech’s invite–The Wizard (Mike Foy), Fauna (Carlena Britch), and Vera (Georgie Guinane)–tensions initially mount as the group resist the unwanted “guests”. Yet, as the night wears on, a drug and alcohol-fueled rave ensues, and problems seem to vanish. When morning dawns, though, a shocking discovery is made that sends the whole group into a state of panicked frenzy, with blame leveled against each person–for a killer is among them.
Next, my Mind:
In director/co-writer/producer/actor Nino Aldi’s 92-minute indie feature film debut, what commences as a far-reaches-of-the-wilderness version of “The Hangover” quickly turns into a taut, intense, gritty, yet eerily realistic murder mystery that showcases the deconstruction of the human psyche and a candid, raw exploration of what happens when fear, doubt, hasty accusation, confusion, and rash decision-making take over one’s actions and attitudes. What makes this all the more potent is the fact that the more grounded sensibility this narrative carries only serves to emphasize how irrational we can become, even despite the extremes in circumstance we might encounter, allowing behavior to devolve into an almost base level, animalistic mentality that can certainly lead to nothing productive, much less to calm, calculated resolution. Now, even while here the duress and emotional disarray is clearly understandable, watching as this group of totally functional (albeit a little flawed, perhaps, but then no one’s perfect) people go from the generally loose, carefree party hounds to completely erratic, angry, and agitated is beautifully unsettling, as it give the film its edginess and needed tension. Once a relative calm is reached, it’s only a lead-in to the next storm as they all desperately try to ascertain how the situation will pan out. This all ultimately delivers a punch-in-the-face finale that will leave you speechless and on the edge of your seat, at least it did for this reviewer. Gorgeous cinematography brings the action to life, both through the pristine and soothing (initially, anyway!) vistas of the N. Minnesota backwaters setting the story unfolds in to the breakdown of order that follows with clear, clean visuals that drive home all the elements presented with purpose and intent. Additionally, the well-orchestrated music score likewise accompanies the proceedings with excellence, ebbing and flowing with the right highs and lows of scenes as they come.
I personally love an amazing ensemble cast, especially when everyone involved not only does their part, but executes it superbly for exactly the effect that’s needed. This is most definitively the case here, no question. Ritter fully delivers here as Dawson, a recent victim of divorce who’s carrying the weight of it with him on what’s supposed to be a “good time with the boys”. It takes coaxing, but he finally loosens up a bit, and tends overall to be the more rational thinker of the group. But, there’s more than meets the eye, and his part to play in events is unexpected, despite trying to be the voice of order. Throughout, Ritter plays it with an excellent amount of resolve and fervor that endears you to his character. Elia likewise brings both a real sense of bravado and a certain level of hidden vulnerability as Willie, a pediatrist who is quite often playfully reminded about his job by the 5 other friends along on the trip, much to his somewhat tolerant annoyance. His desire to just make everyone relax and have a great time is infectious. But, when events go south, there’s such a distinct change in his demeanor in how he processes the chaos around him, which is also viewed earlier in the film as well. Elia navigates this steadily building, radical change in personality with an acutely emotional performance. Vincent oozes ego gone wrong to a “T” in his role as Cooper, a film actor who knows he’s “all that”, even if others around him get a little tired of his often incessant boasting. A rather volatile individual, it doesn’t take too long for his personality to rub pretty much everyone the wrong way. Yet, he remains loyal to his friends, at least at first, until dark secrets emerge that could threaten the peace. Vincent embodies this so overtly well, a credit to the actor in creating a character he kind of love to hate.
Young infuses a jolt of honest-to-goodness pragmatism as Jack, the arranger of the trip who has gone ahead of the others to get camp set up and who also tries to act as a “mediator” amongst the group once they all arrive and are trying to settle in and realize the good time they all should have. His overall manner when events take their turn is more a totally shocked numbness that tries to sort out a suitable solution, even as people begin taking sides when the finger-pointing starts. Young simply brings earnestness and total commitment to Jack’s character, which reflects perfectly in the film. Roy’s Leech is what I felt was the impressively portrayed goofball of the group, totally free-spirited, maybe just a tad nerdy, and just ready to have a great time no matter what it takes. We can tell he’s someone who might have been the butt of jokes while growing up, even amongst these friends, but he stays true to himself and is happy to do so. Therefore, his abject sense of anxiety and consternation as the trip turns to nightmare is a palpable force and very well enacted by Roy. Then there’s Aldi’s Richie, a Gulf War Marine veteran who most vividly carries the pain and psychological upheaval within him from it, which makes itself know in highly violent and fiercely angry ways when pushed to his limits, which of course occurs when the morning time breaks on after the aforementioned night of partying. It’s a visceral performance Aldi brings to make the character so believably unhinged, and it sadly rings of the truth about PTSD. Foy provides a prime piece of character acting prowess in playing The Wizard, a unassuming, peace-loving (so we think) goth guy who decides to liven up the party, having not been a welcome guest to begin with, with a drug he swears by. The aftermath of this is made brutally clear, as does the suspicions he immediately arouses in the others, despite pleading innocence with an almost snarling voracity that makes the character just enough scary to be wonderfully effective, and Foy chews up every scene he’s in.
Guinane makes up half of The Wizard’s gal pal duo in her role as Vera, a woman we can clearly tell marches to her own goth drum and could really care less what others think. Yet, we know there’s a fierce woman within, and while she has moments it comes out, she remains a little bit of an enigma, portrayed well by Guinane. Britch’s Fauna is the exact mirror of this as well, goth to the end and loving being who she is, but with an inner fire that you really would not want to mess with. Yet, she becomes far more involved with events then she would like, much less in how she gets treated, and you feel for the character’s plight wholeheartedly thanks to Britch’s performance. Wallack and Jensen round out the cast as detectives Hastings and Maxwell respectively who get to give Willie the third degree and wrench the story of what transpired at Stillwater, with Hastings especially being highly dubious about what she’s being told. Getting to the real truth is her aim, much to Maxwell’s hesitations at her forwardness with a traumatized person, but he steps aside and allows her to do her job. Both actors do a fine job with these characters. In total, “Stillwater” is a dark thriller that does supreme credit to its genre in delivering a film that feels so real and not contrived just for the sake of pleasing the masses but rather those who sincerely love well-conceived, character-driven efforts that honestly reflect the times in which we live while still providing gripping entertainment.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
