“A forgettable and bland romance-drama clichés of two
wounded souls.”
Safelight, a
directorial debut by writer-director Tony Aloupis, is a montage of drama
clichés. Featuring archetypal tragic characters, it is essentially about two
troubled souls who find solace and healing in each other.
The movie is set in a 1970s Southern California desert town.
Charles (Evan Peters) is a 17-year-old timid and crippled boy. Born with a
deformed foot, he was abandoned by his mother when he was still two. While presently
taking care of his terminally ill dad (Jason Beghe), Charles also works at a
truck stop convenience store owned by amusing, thrice-divorced Peg (Christine Lahti). On top of that, he is constantly bullied by a trio on his way home from
school. Charles take comfort in photography, made possible with a camera
inherited from a brother he lost to Vietnam.
Charles is attracted to Vicki (Juno Temple), a gentle and
kind-hearted 18-year-old hooker who is fond of sporting heart-shaped
sunglasses. Constantly physically and verbally abused by boyfriend-turned-to-pimp
Skid (Kevin Alejandro), she is rescued by Charles with a baseball bat during an
encounter one night. This leads to a tacit friendship between the two.
When a photography contest is launched at Charles’ school,
Vicki offers to take him to different lighthouses in California, a subject
which Charles wanted to take pictures of. Their weekend excursions soon involve
each other’s family. While Vicki impresses Charles’ dad, Charles help her
reconnect with her mother and sisters. However, a disagreement breaks between
the two and Skid comes in to take back what is his.
Safelight is a
depressing and frustrating movie. Both the plot and the characters are poorly
developed. Its slow, bland and low-key story is filled with clichés – from
wounded major characters to over-maniacal love triangle and to its
highly-predictable kind-of-accidental-gunshot ending. It is also uneven as it
feels unsure what to do next. It does not put extra efforts in establishing the
romance between the two as all dramatic and romantic elements, after being
started, are suddenly ignored and put aside. It does not pay due attention to
the sexual undercurrents between them, possibly leading to a coming-of-age story arc for
Charles and to a satisfying journey of love for Vicki.
Form beginning to end, the film circles around the idea of
finding healing to the two wounded souls. Apparently, every action and
conversation must always imply the healing factor. So what results is that the
actions and mostly dialogues are forced and unnatural. This is very apparent
when dying dad leaves some words of wisdom to his promising son. Hearing those
overused lines is cheesy and torturous.
The film’s few good points are its nice photography and
solid acting from its capable actors. Although they have no chemistry, both
Peters and Temple sensitively played their moments and projected tenderness and
vulnerability. They are good character actors and their best moments are their
quiet scenes together. While Alejandro overplayed but still looked genuinely
terrifying, Lahti and Beghe lent effective support to the younger stars.
With its depressing atmosphere and frustrating plot, Safelight is excruciating to watch. The
committed performance of its cast is not enough to salvage the movie.
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