Director: Ryan M. Kennedy
MPAA Rating: NR
Film Pulse Score: 7.5/10
Ryan M. Kennedy’s The Projectionist is the perfect example of how to successfully make a low budget indie and crowd source it properly. Featuring marvelous visuals, a strong script, and some great performances, this depressing character piece explores the darkness created in a man with undiagnosed PTSD and the slow unraveling of his mind.
Russ Russo turns a fantastic performance as Jacob, an Army vet plagued by the atrocities he witnessed while in the service. While desperately struggling to keep a handle on his mental faculties, Jacob works as a projectionist at a run down movie theater.
In order to keep some sense of humanity, Jacob frequents the home of a prostitute named Ivana (Natasha Alam), whom he wants a relationship with, however she’s wary of his stability. He also meets a vagabond named Marlon, played by Doug E. Doug, at his local diner. These two are the only people he really talks to, other than his verbally abusive boss at the theater and the man that develops his film. Jacob is something of an amateur filmmaker, using an old 16mm camera to shoot various home movies.
The first thing one notices about this film is the stark black and white photography. The dark grittiness lends itself to the overall tone of the film, which is dread upon dread upon dread. The lighting is subdued and the locations look run down and dirty despite Jacob’s obsessive need to keep things clean and in order. There are many ways one can hide the fact that a film has a low budget and great cinematography is one of them.
A solid script is another way to elevate a low budget flick and The Projectionist thankfully does have a great script. When you break down the film after watching it you begin to see the slight nuances within the characters that all form the bigger picture. Credit is due not only to the script for this, but the performances as well. Russo obviously brings the most depth, nailing the role of a man slowly losing his grip on the world.
The only quibble I had was that the sound mixing was a bit lacking. At times Russo’s character was nearly inaudible because of how soft spoken he is, but then he’ll scream extremely loudly so I was constantly fidgeting with the volume. This doesn’t detract from the film as a whole, but I’m wondering if there were certain bits of dialogue I missed due to not being able to hear them.
Currently being distributed through Kickstarter in order to raise funds for a theatrical release, The Projectionist is absolutely worth checking out. It’s a beautifully shot and surprisingly deep character study that’s relentlessly morose, but not too violent or over the top.
Be sure to Click Here to check out the film’s Kickstarter page and donate to see the film for yourself.
