Fairhaven

source: Fairhaven

I feel like I've seen a version of this film so many times. White person goes home to semi-gritty Northeastern town for funeral/other issue, meets up with those who stayed, they all have problems. The cinematography is nice but it's not stunning, and it's certainly not Night of the Hunter (seriously, other reviewer?).

This was a surprisingly good movie. I'm not going to try and write a "pro" review. I'm simply sharing my opinion, and I'm a person who has seen A LOT of movies, and has studied fine art...so: The cinematography is amazing. It's like the color version of The Night of the Hunter. I grew up in the Northeast on the water so it really hit home. It added a genuine romance to the homes and common sceneries you walk by everyday and never look at or imagine in the way it was presented in this film. It's almost like an old chair you have in your back yard that a photographer makes look like it belongs on the cover of a travel magazine. The story is pretty hard hitting and well told. That said, however, the characters take too long to blossom as well and suddenly it gets cut really short. In other words, just as I was starting to get into the story...it ended. So for me that was the downside. Otherwise this definitely gets a WATCH. It's quite good.

You know, it isn't easy to make a good movie. To begin with, I believe you need a good script. That is to say, in my mind at least, the story has to be complete. You can have great acting, great direction, great film making and yet, because of the script itself, it's literary values, the film isn't complete. The story isn't complete. That is the case with this movie. (Spoiler Alert) Two of three main characters are released, so to speak, from their torment. The third character, the one played by Messina: we don't really know what happens to him. He goes back into the oblivion. These are my film aesthetics: the viewers need to have the complete story. It's fine if a character doesn't come to terms with his life, but we want to know how. Messina's character has screwed up his life. He's run away from a tough situation with a woman he loved and he has refused to understand his parents. His girl has found another guy. His life has been emptied out. But the movie leaves him pretty much where it found him, except now he most likely knows he has screwed up. It's not enough. I obviously hate it when filmmakers leave things hanging. I really believe there's a laziness to it. If they can't complete the story they shouldn't make the film.

This modest film has the feel of "Manchester By the Sea," but without the over-the-top melodrama. Set in a small New England village, the film follows the lives of three buddies reunited at the time of the death of one of their dads. There are some touching and heartfelt moments in this well-crafted slice of life of dysfunctional New Englanders. We see the action primarily through the eyes of Jon, the former high school quarterback and erstwhile writer. Jon is about to give up his fishing vessel, the Mandy Lynn, and commit himself to full-time writing. While Jon has the touch of the poet, Sam is a hard-working realtor, who was divorced from Kate, another one of the close connections to all the characters from high school. Sam is dedicated to supporting his daughter, but struggles with loneliness and must face an episode of premature ejaculation in a long night on the Mandy Lynn. Dave is the playboy who left town. After a failed stint in Las Vegas, he is now residing in Arizona. It is Dave's father who died and for whose funeral he has reluctantly returned to the Massachusetts fishing village. In a moment of confessional, Dave opens up to Jon about the affair he once had with Kate. Jon is outraged because he feels that the Dave's affair was an affront to Sam, despite the fact that Sam and Kate were separated at the time. A shortcoming of the film was to unconvincingly depict women who fall for Dave and become emotionally enmeshed with essentially a loser. One of the more interesting scenes was a therapy session, wherein Jon lets loose a rare outburst of anger in an act of self-loathing. As a gifted writer with a New Age girlfriend, it puzzling why he seemed so disconnected from himself. It is also not clear if his therapy will make a difference. One also wonders how he is able to pay for a therapist. One of the strengths of the film is that we are never given pat answers to the dysfunction in the characters' lives. We do not learn why Dave left town, other than his father was a philanderer. We never learn what was the emotional connection between Kate and Dave. We never learn why the women flock to him. Those deep, dark secrets appear to be known only to the Mandy Lynn.

Watching FAIRHAVEN was everything I love about Tom O'Brian's theatrical plays come to life a million times over with all of the elements fitting together: lovely shots, poetic scenery, authentic acting, heartfelt pacing and musical score combined to remind me of what acting coach Wynn Handman would refer to as "a perfect pitch and tone". Tom's character was an endearing, curious, mysterious and fun protagonist. I understand what he means about Tom Brady! I love the story and how the film captures the way that we are all ever unraveling from, entwining in and learning from the events in our lives. We were riveted and while I knew it would be great, I was so excited and surprised by how great. My boyfriend watched in silence the whole time and when it was over he said, "that was impeccable… perfect". He said he loved it and wants to watch it again. We were both moved. I have been spending more time this past year in my hometown than I have spent in 26 years... I related so much to the relationships, internal and external landscapes and the heartbreaking beauty of watching life expand all of us no matter where we stay or travel to. Movie made with excellence!

As a resident of the town this movie is named for I wasn't sure what to expect, other than recognizing the local scenery. What I got was a beautifully told tale of what it means to be a man in the Peter Pan world we live in. I could not take my eyes off the screen or the actors' amazingly understated performances. It is a quiet film, and if you don't look carefully or with the right kind of eyes you may think nothing much is happening. However, if you are a man on the wrong side of 30 and there is nothing left of childhood but memories then you will be hit with every possible emotion watching these three guys over the course of a few days. If you have ever struggled with your dreams of youth maybe never being fulfilled, or with what it means to be a father, or if you have ever hurt the one you love the most because you knew they were better off without the mess you are...I could go on and on. I related with all three of the main characters so much. Also, for a movie about men made by men it must be stated that the women in this movie are all lovely and multi dimensional. I think it is easy to forget about women, or make them window dressing in such a film, but all of the best scenes in the film involve the strong male facade gently cracking under the gaze of the fairer sex. I will just say that the film is honest and true and that is all you can ever hope for in any work of art. Maybe it was simply a case of me being in a certain place, looking with certain eyes that made me connect so strongly but this film stayed with me a long, long time afterwords. Buy this film. Rent this film on iTunes. Support this type of work because I want to see more films like this. A quiet film with purpose. We deserve it.

Jon, a former high school football star returns home to the small fishing village of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He was an arrogant, useless jerk in high school, and returns a failed, arrogant, useless jerk. We start with layer upon layer of cliché. Will there be any evolution, or is this just another fouled up, self-regarding 'feel bad comedy'? Dave is back from Arizona to talk to old friends and catch up with his mother. Jon is trying to get into something new, perhaps writing. He arranges to quit his fishing job as soon as he can find a replacement. He's in two kinds of therapy. The obligatory drunken barroom and getting high scenes are just as boring as one might expect. Jon, Dave, and Sam are not any better at it than any one else. Sam has stayed in Fairhaven (as opposed to Jon and Dave), has gotten married, had a daughter, got a divorce, and dealt with the break up. Nobody seems to be any happier than anyone else. The funeral for Dave's father was nicely awkward. The ending was flat, rather like the rest of the film. Cinematography: 10/10 Exceptionally lovely shooting, especially the exteriors. Depth of field is shallow for the interiors to isolate the character to focus on, showing a nice level of control. Framing and color saturation are great. Sound: 8/10 Occasionally the music was blaring. Acting: 4/10 The performances are all too often from the 'smile, show how cool you are' school of non-involvement. Boring, non-engaging. Screenplay: 4/10 Stupid premise, bad execution, boring; not aided by immature actors.

I have to admit that I'm not often pulled in to character-driven movies. I'm afraid I might be a victim of the fast-paced, constant-stimulation environment that technology has created for us. But this movie got to me. I'm from New England and the vibe and the characters were so accurate, and the story was so engrossing that I felt like I was a part of the movie. The other reviewer put it well when she wrote, "it wasn't like I was watching a movie, it was like I was watching life." I felt like I knew the characters, and I was left with the feeling of wanting another "episode." I actually think the movie would make a great premise for a dramatic television show, and I would definitely be a weekly viewer. I'm looking forward to nationwide release of the movie so that I can share it with my friends.

FAIRHAVEN is a quiet film that packs an emotional punch. Tom O'Brien does an amazing job writing and directing beautifully authentic scenes between people we all can relate to. Chris Messina can always be depended upon to deliver a scene-stealing performance (I loved him in Julie and Julia and Vicky Cristina Barcelona), however in this case his co-actors Sarah Paulson, Rich Sommer, Maryann Plunkett, and Phyllis Kay, are all so talented, they give him a run for his money. Lovely, wide shots of the melancholy Connecticut seacoast abound and the setting almost becomes a secondary character. This is a sleeper gem that's well worth watching. We have not seen the last of the talented (and handsome) O'Brien.