TRIBECA FILM FEST 2015 // A FILM REVIEW OF "COME DOWN MOLLY"
The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs April 15th-26th and features hundreds of features, documentaries, short films, and special events all throughout downtown New York City. The ArtsWire Weekly's three featured reviewers Mateo, Derek, & Chrisena are hitting the festival and bringing the reviews right to you! What you should see and what you should skip...
Gregory Kohn's latest feature, Come Down Molly, tells a simple story of new mom Molly who feels trapped in the house and in life with her infant son while her husband's gone every day earning an honest living. One day she takes off to meet a group of high school friends, all guys, at a cabin in the mountains. Their reunion begins by reminiscing about old times when they all had the hots for tomboy Molly, but takes a turn to much deeper reflections when the group consumes a ziploc full of psychedelic mushrooms. The vast natural setting of the film, maybe somewhere in the foothills of the Rockies, is appropriate and adds to the grandiosity of the existential concepts the friends banter about. So does the Ken Burns music.
The film is unique in its casualness. For starters, a large number of the characters go by their actor names. It was certainly fun to watch these people have fun, and lots of it. How much of the dialogue was scripted and what was the result of improv is anyone's guess, as it seemed these words were genuinely rolling right off the tongue of the performers. It gave a feel that I would call hyper natural realism, meaning very naturally real. A majority of the film took place in a meadow in the valley, amongst amazing golden grasses and a picturesque creek, while both loud, large beasts and small, colorful insects made appearances on screen that added to the awesomeness and naturalness of the trip.
Come Down Molly is fun to watch, and though a simple movie, drifts into some complex ideas. It at once made me, often feeling trapped in the concrete jungle; yearn for a trip out west and a trip...just...out. Into nature, into the cosmos, into the meaning of life. How did those actors prepare for this role, I wonder?
VERDICT: ON THE FENCE
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Gregory Kohn STARRING Eléonore Hendricks, Kentucker Audley, Lindsay Burdge, Jason Shelton, John Anderson, Jason Selvig
Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com
W. DEREK JORDEN is an actor currently living and working in New York City. He and his wife live on a Spaceship on the top of a building, which makes for some interesting dinner parties.