Tribeca 2011 Daily Recap: April 28th

I’m willing to admit that today was a bit of a disappointment at the Tribeca Film Festival. I should have known something was up when it started pouring outside. The day started fine enough with a visit to the pressroom, where I happened to see Stephen Root. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to speak with him and that seems to be where things took a turn for the worse.

The first film I watched today was DETACHMENT, which stars Adrien Brody as a substitute teacher who is emotionally removed from the world, although he still wants to help seemingly every troubled young person he meets. If you think this sounds like a typical teacher reforms a class full of misfits flick, you are sorely mistaken. This film is absolutely bleak & would have left me quite depressed if I cared about the characters. I just couldn’t get into the film or the over-stylized experimental direction. Reactions were mixed with those I talked to after the screening and it seems like this is the sort of film people will either love or hate.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat with Alan LaFave (festival director for Hells Half Mile), we headed to our next screening. We opted to see HIGHER GROUND, by Vera Farmiga. This is another film that will likely divide audiences. I really enjoyed Joshua Leonard’s performance, as well as some of the more humorous moments, but overall this was just not a film for me. It offers brief satirical thoughts about religion but it is mostly an earnest look at someone struggling with faith over the course of her life. There is an absolutely huge audience out there for this film but I am not in it.

After the screening I made a final trip to the filmmaker lounge to check my email. Just one response to my many interview requests and it was a no because the talent had already left. With no more press screenings or any party invites, I headed home. I wouldn’t say it was a bad day, but it was definitely not what I expected.

Jerry Cavallaro  – www.StuckLikeChuck.com