Another one for the scrap heap. And by that I mean that Bellflower technically came out months ago (I believe it first went into very limited release in early August) but I only now caught up with it On Demand. Bellflower is a bit different than The Dilemma or Super or Last Night in that it’s developed a cult following that is only getting larger by the day. The general consensus is not only that it doesn’t suck but is actually awesome. Well, awesome is a relative term…
The movie doesn’t really have a set plot but is basically a mood piece about two best friends who are building a rocket launcher and a flame throwing muscle car to prepare for…the world’s most elaborate Mad Max homage. It’s clear they really just want to have dangerous fun (like shooting sawed off shotguns at propane tanks) than face any real danger, but one of them begins a relationship with a woman that seriously complicates all that.
What Works: Parts of this movie are absolutely beautiful and the central romance feels realistic. Plus, the trailer for this movie is great. I would seriously nominate this as one of the best independent movie trailers of the year. It promises a stylish ride that will grip you early on and really have something to say about young malehood along the way…
What Doesn’t Work: Unfortunately, the finished product doesn’t really live up to that. The first half of the movie is a pretty slow moving romance between the lead character and a girl he picks up at a bar. It feels “real” but…so do most independent movies, but then the movie does a complete 180 in the last half to a doom-soaked tragedy, which is where most of the style lies but also a narrative jumble where the movie becomes a real mess to make sense of. I know that this movie’s fans are practically screaming at me that I “don’t get it,” and the ending is supposed to be confusing as it chronicle’s the very real feeling of apocalyptic heartache after a breakup. And it does do that…but how satisfying is that to watch? I “get” the movie just fine and found parts of it relatable but there was just something nagging at me at how little I enjoyed the overall experience. A world of potential but ultimately disappointing. Plus, what twenty year olds really obsess about Mad Max? We’re too young to have real love for that movie.
What I Would Have Done Differently: I know that the filmmaker will make a great movie one day. You can feel it in every frame and he has a real voice that will find the right vehicle and really take off…but this isn’t quite it. I can’t tell people not to see this movie and they probably should just to be a part of the conversation, but they should be prepared to feel disappointed (or plain dumbfounded) afterwards.