Filmmaking is ESPECIALLY difficult when you are a first-time director making a feature film in a city that in the not-so-distant past has been much less than supportive to even big studio projects much less the local independent producer. The city fathers seemed at one point to decide that this city would focus on oil and healthcare for its financial identity, not the devil’s work like filmmaking and art. This is Dallas, son, not Paris! Add to all of these obstacles the hurdles of working in a sagging economy, the learning curve for legal/distribution/managing investors while at the same time dealing with the building blocks of casting/rehearsals/locations, AND the long list of details that every young director must learn while on the task of celluloid alchemy... What we end up with resembles more of an endurance test than an act of artistic creation. For many, filmmaking is a right of passage equivalent to ritual scarification, even circumcision… (ok, maybe I got a little carried away…) But the skinny is: it’s no walk in the park, kiddies. Making movies takes determination, sheer will, organization, and good old-fashioned thick skin.
Director Russ Pond
FISSURE, (http://fissurethemovie.com) the first feature by Dallas-based director Russ Pond, has its first North Texas screening Tuesday July 21, 2009, just two years after the cameras first began to roll here in Dallas (not far from my apartment) and one year after it debuted at the AFI Dallas Film Festival in 2008. The film is a well-shot subtle science-fiction thriller that won “Best Locally-Made Film” in 2008 from the Fort Worth Weekly and “Best Lead Performance” from Hollywood First Glance. And rightfully so.
James MacDonald as Detective Paul Grunning
The story centers on character-actor James MacDonald as Detective Paul Grunning, an injured officer who has just returned to the force after a personal tragedy. He unknowingly steps into a complex maze of alternate realities when investigating a routine domestic disturbance. MacDonald is a familiar face who is usually cast to play law enforcement types. He has been in a handful of features including “Phone Booth” and “Hollywood Homicide” and also has an impressive television resume which includes “ER”, “NYPD Blue”, “CSI: Miami”, “Weeds”, and even “Sex and the City”. FISSURE is his first lead role and he takes the opportunity to infuse the character with his brand of “sensitive tough-guy” that he does so well. He is the life blood of this film and seeing his performance alone is well worth the price of admission.
Russ Pond with Todd Terry
While on the subject of talent, a secondary character, Tyler, played by Texas actor Todd Terry, has probably 30 seconds of screen-time in a flash-back but leaves a lasting impression as an ex-con in a desperate situation. I wish there was more of his performance in the script. Watch for this guy. He's brilliant.
Crystal Mantecon as Rachel
I felt that a pivotal character, the female lead, played by Dallas actor Crystal Mantecon, was not used fully, or at least not to my liking. Perhaps more of her role ended up on the cutting room floor, but what I saw from her didn’t do her justice given the breadth of her talent. Crystal has a smart logical appeal but unfortunately the industry tends to dumb down most females roles. This part called for a multi-dimensional characterization and that is not what I saw on screen. In the press releases the character of Rachel is described as seductive. Cute, definitely. A temptress in sexy eye-wear? I didn’t really get that from her performance. It felt like her character couldn’t make up her mind if she was a damsel in distress or a brainy co-ed with a secret. Luckily, with the lines she’s given, either interpretation works. Just not both simultaneously.
The story itself keeps you guessing, though the payoff at the end, for me, was slightly lacking. The script could have used some tightening ( the incessant running from room to room in did not equate suspense) and at times the pacing was a little forced for me, but all in all it is an excellent first release.
Director of Photography Alan Lefebvre
The look of the film is what sold me. There’s nothing like the combination of a talented DP and a good film colorist to create a compelling modern visual identity. The Director of Photography Alan Lefebvre captured some wonderful images that suggest a slightly altered reality. The interiors are tight and somewhat claustrophobic which adds to the tension of the scenes. The exteriors are warm with a slight soft focus vignette that make the autumn golds and blues seem to shimmer with their own life. There is a beautiful shot where Grunning returns to the home of the disturbance after re-living a pinnacle moment in his past. As he gets out of the car the elevated camara dollies forward and follows him back to the mysterious house. The shot is full of emotion and a high point in the visual storytelling in the film.
A few things left me wanting more. In the film because of an unseen force people are described as being ripped apart from the inside out as they cross these invisible barriers in time. None of this ever makes it to camera, except for some bloody spittle on MacDonalds’s chin towards the climax. Also, there are references to an "institute" that the ill-fated Mr. Ulster works for doing, you guessed it, "classified" research which we never see either. Not even a white coat nor a security pass. Yes, it’s a bit of the “Theater of the Mind” in play here that makes the viewer imagine what is happening, but one good shot of someone disintegrating would have made me happy. For a science fiction thriller, the landscape is practically devoid of special FX, except for a single low-level timewarp shot that was right out of Stargate. And for someone raised in the 80s where less is less and more is MORE, I wanted MORE. I can't help but think that with a sizable budget this script easily could have been a summer block-buster (or at least a Labor Day holiday release) vehicle for Keanu Reeves (perish the thought) or some flavor of the week filled with time-shifting effects and a self-aware techonolgy that threatens to take out the world. Alas, in this incarnation the film is more of a clever character study that simply nods to the implied catastrophe that we never get to actually lay our eyes upon. Where as the unseen was more frightening than the revealed in "The Blair Witch Project" (the original, that is), the lack of a tangible "monster" (i.e. VISIBLE THREAT) in Fissure left me feeling a little jilted. Even in "The Andromeda Strain" (1971 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/) though the threat was microscopic we were shown the horrible things this other-worldly organism could do. Call me an ambulance chaser, but I want to see the mash-up.
Another thing that I found a little annoying at times was the sound design. The abundant use of the Hollywood-style ‘swoosh’ and frenetic string glissandos used to enhance intense scenes were a little distracting and, in at least one point in the film, downright funny. A little elevated ambient room noise and a low-end hum can do wonders for a tense scene where forced sound effects can distract. But then again I am a filmmaker so I am both condemning as well as forgiving.
In a press roundtable interview at Hotel ZaZa last month I asked director Russ Pond what his follow-up project would be and he said that a children’s film was next in consideration. It didn’t surprise me in the least. Children’s films have the highest percentage of return on investment. Of course, making films is a business and you have to sell product to stay in the market, but I half-hoped Russ would have chosen to stay in the thriller genre and try to raise everything up a notch. I think Russ is a talented director and would love to see what he could do if the gloves were off, there were no punches pulled and he attacked a project without the hindrances of investor expectations, ratings, and budgetary concessions… That, I think, would be an amazing film.
I don’t attempt to take away from his success with Fissure. By all means, he should be revered as a hero in the indie filmmaking populace of Dallas. He has succeeded with the help of a visionary marketing team led by Brandon Jones of Indigenous Films and Kelly Kitchens to release an excellent first project that has raised the bar for low-budget independent filmmaking in Texas.
The marketing team embraced technology and used social media platforms like FaceBook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fissure/9676621281) and Twitter to self-promote the film with amazing results. Simply by sending out event invitations on FB they successfully filled the theater to 80% capacity for their first non-festival screening in Portland, Oregon, a city that literally no one on the team had any previous ties to. Now that is impressive. The producers also decided to upload snippets of the film to the website to create a buzz and whet your appetite to see the entire feature. Literally, the first 30 minutes of the film are being offered in short webisodes you can see here: http://fissure.tv/
Is this a perfect film? No. But then again the concept of perfection is entirely subjective. Perception is reality. The holes are only apparent if you are looking for them. There are some lacking performances (the entire Ulster family is mis-cast and have no chemistry whatsoever) and a few technical issues (cameras seen in reflections, over-use of audio effects), but Fissure does one thing amazingly well- it raises the bar for independent filmmaking across the board. It illustrates what can happen when art is refined through a business mind and sculpted into a marketable project by passionate and conscientious craftsmen.
Does the film entertain? It caters to a Hollywood mentality, but, yes, it beats out 80% of the swill you’ll glance over on the rental shelves this weekend. Will the film change your life? Probably not, unless you are a filmmaker. Then perhaps it will open up a world of possibilities and light a fire under your ass. And really, when was the last time ANY film did that for you?
Fissure is making the rounds in the festival circuit but it is being released direct-to-disk this month. It is available on Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon starting on Tuesday August 11. So get it in your cues, kiddies, and get ready to enjoy the best fare to come out of Dallas since Fletchers Corny Dogs. And no, that's not a movie...
JC says ‘Check it out’…
"Fissure" Trailer
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