Frownland

This is more ammo for the argument that a movie should not try to diagnose anyone. All these characters have an expansive life of the mind they want to express but none of them are willing to hear it from each other. The extra speckly 16mm is an anachronistic indulgence I could do without.

Real feels

What becomes so obnoxious on screen earns the viewer's patience with such a slice-of-life, piece of shit character that can't catch a break. Simple, and some playful writing I could really enjoy.

Everything great about this film should have an asterisk beside it highlighting the fact that it is the most punishingly annoying film you may ever see. Hoping Bronstein returns to the directors chair and this becomes his "Eraserhead". And Dore Mann might have the best single film resume in the history of acting.

It's very rare and extremely refreshing to see a movie protagonist as grotesquely neurotic as this, who bumbles so obstinately as to test the patience of everyone around him as well as the viewer. In fact, a couple of other prominent characters, while better spoken, seem to have their own mental issues. It's just as weird as its Captain-Beefheart-inspired title suggests, but at the same time a realistic slice-of-life character-study, largely meriting the Cassavetes comparisons. Great movie.

Mumblecore B-movies 80ler psikolojik gerilim film muzikleri.. Cok ilgimi cekmedi ama oyunculuklar kuvvetli, kimi kisimlari guclu.

A character portrait, specifically a Gen X/Y Quasimodo.

"The anomic gloom that envelops Frownland, a miserabilist, micro-budgeted 16mm freak show, fatally impedes its seeming aspirations to the mercurial grit of Cassavetes." - Bill Weber

Mumblecore as unflinching vision of hell? Eraserhead as Cassavetes as 80s underground punk? Deeply unsettling but rewarding stuff. Lillian and Dan's disfigured sibling?

As an exploration of awkwardness and insecurity, it's great. However, this isn't the greatest, most comfortable, or easiest subject to watch. I can see what the film was trying to do, and it succeeds, even if it doesn't sit well with me. The director was at the showing, and me and some friends were able to talk to him. He's an nice down-to-earth kind of guy, and I have a lot of respect for him. It's amazing how this film actually inspired violence at some showings.