Kill The Moonlight

IdleRich

IdleRich
I watched this the other day and I really enjoyed it. Didn't know what it was going to be about but it's basically a kind of slacker thing, ostensibly about this guy trying to raise some money so he can fix up his car for a stock car race. That's not really important though, it's more about strange (and I thought) desperate and disconnected characters hustling in small town California. Although it's filled with humour and kind of played for laughs I found it quite dark and eerie. Loads of open and empty spaces, very strange people and (to me at least) always an unsettling threat of violence - or something else - in the background. What I particularly liked was the way that a lot of the time the speaking is out of sync with the lip movements of the actors and at some points there is a strange echo effect added so that even a normal situation suddenly seems druggy and/or otherworldly. One very noticeable example of this is when (according to the interview on the DVD) the director liked the way a piece of the film looked when he stared through it from the wrong side so he turned it upside down and ran it backwards leaving the actor's mouth actions completely dissociated from her words.
The main character - though likable - is also slightly disturbing with his slow drawl that almost seems to mark him out as retarded. His actions don't really do anything to contradict this either and although he is basically nice and harmless he is slightly vacant and creepy at the same time. Like the film really.
The film is shot on an absolutely minimal budget which is quite apparent but it also looks great a lot of the time. There is a fantastic scene shot through a moving car window at night where loads of neon lights scroll past - cliched perhaps but it still looks great.
The soundtrack is also notable, loads of dirty surf that sounds like Link Wray as well as some shouty nineties grunge-metal and a bit of garage rock.
It reminded me in a strange way of maybe David Lynch shooting a slacker film or, in some strange way I can't put my finger on, of Repo Man. It also has some of the empty hillbilly feel of Boys Don't Cry.
Anyone else got any opinions?
 
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