MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Geoff Marslett
Film Pulse Score: 7/10
Geoff Marslett’s sophomore effort, Loves Her Gun, follows a tragic event inflicted upon the main character Allie, exceptionally portrayed by Trieste Kelly Dunn, and its after-effects that seem to haunt her throughout the film. The tragic event refers to an early scene in the film involving Allie walking home and being attacked by two perpetrators, dressed in animal masks; robbed of her purse, punched in the face and kicked in the side, battered and bruised, Allie makes it home and calls the police, recounting her story to a seemingly skeptical police officer.
The attack comes when Allie is walking home from viewing a performance of The Karate Kids, a three-piece band complete with intricate costumes emulating Ralph Macchio’s signature stance from the movie. After the show Allie hangs out with the members – Danny (Geoff Marslett), Zoe (Ashley Spillers) and Clark (Francisco Barreiro) until her selfishly annoying boyfriend shows up and whisks her away to another concert she won’t attend because of him. After he leaves, the incident happens and effectively changes her life for the immediate future. Thus, forcing Allie to make the sudden decision to join the The Karate Kids on the rest of their tour, helping the band sell merchandise and other odd jobs until they finally land in Austin, Texas.
The tour portion of the film is presented in time-lapse footage of the band’s RV traveling across the country with bull horns in the glow of headlights. From the outset Clark is taken by Allie; from the moment Clark meets her you realize he wants nothing more than to spend more time with Allie. Which wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that Zoe is madly in love with Clark.
The absolute highlight of the film is the performance from Trieste Kelly Dunn as Allie, leading an unfocused life, coming to terms with the implications of her harrowing ordeal, but at the same time, sporadically coming across as ungrateful and burdening others. Dunn aptly handles all of the emotions thrown at her character, being the driving force behind Loves Her Gun. She jumps from fun-loving to victim to an emotional wreck to a woman putting the pieces of her life back together, back to victim and then ends at a state of resolute empowerment.
Trieste Kelly Dunn isn’t the only one that provides a great performance in Loves Her Gun. Ashley Spillers and Francisco Barreiro, both, hold their own in their own way. Spillers comes off as a lovable, caring and out-and-out good-natured person while providing much of the humor in the film. She does a exceptional job portraying her strong love for Clark and successive outrage following her discovery that Allie isn’t interested in Clark, even after he took Allie in, caring and looking after her. While Barreiro is tasked with communicating his emotions through facial expressions, given that his character is shy and soft-spoken, effectively conveying all of the character’s emotional torment through body and facial language.
Although Loves Her Gun drags slightly once the story hits Austin, the performances from Dunn, Spillers and Barreiro keep the film above the mediocre waterline. The handheld camerawork is perfectly-suited given the intimate subject matter of a woman’s fear and paranoia reverberating from one cataclysmic event in her life. Finally finding solace in her hands firmly wrapped around a handgun…although she prefers the shotgun.
