20140430: Comedy Review--White Reindeer

White Reindeer

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2013, NR, 82 minutes, comedy, drama, indie.
2. IMDB: 5.8/10.0 from 458 audience ratings.  Aspect 1.85
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 89% on the meter; 54% liked it from 278 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 2.6/5.0 from 18,982 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Zach Clark.
6. Starring: Anna Margaret Hollyman as Suzanne Barrington, Laura Lemar-Goldsborough as Fantasia, Lydia Hyslop as Patti, Joe Swanberg as George, Chris Doubeck as Detective Ross, Marissa Molnar as Latifa, Nathan Williams as Jeff Barrington.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Jeff and Suzanne seem to be happy living in Virginia near Christmas time.  Jeff has a new job starting in January, and they enjoy each other's company deeply.  Suzanne comes home one day before Christmas to find Jeff on the floor with his head bashed in.


2. The police investigation seems rather light and inept at the beginning.  Things pick up a bit after Suzanne starts combing through the files and web addresses on Jeff's computer.


3. Suzanne decides to meet some of the girls that Jeff knew.  Fantasia is one of the dancers.  Suzanne starts into shoplifting, as well as cocaine use.  Neither of these serves her well.  Her old set of friends prove to be less normal afterward.  Eventually, though, she starts to get information about Jeff's secret life: lap dances, cocaine use, and his other love interests.


4. Her excursion into getting to know the neighbors is not too damaging.  Then again, it was not beneficial for Suzanne.


5. Does Suzanne connect the dots?  Does she seek help with the police?  Will she survive the neighbors, or her Internet Christmas-sadness buying spree?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: A Christmas-themed feel-bad film.
2. Two stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 4/10 From overexposure to underexposure to faux blondes to terrible makeup, the sets and lighting were poor.


2. Sound: 7/10 The actors were miked OK.  The incidental music was crappy, but then again, that's pretty much what the story was about: crappy situations.


3. Acting: 4/10 I almost liked the performance of Anna Margaret Hollyman, but not any of the many others.


4. Screenplay: 4/10 There was nothing funny about this film.  It should not be billed as a comedy.