ART HOUSE

The lovely Art House is decorated with modern cinematic pieces that aren't shown at the local mall movie theater. Some would be classified as experimental, others are subtitled and in foreign languages, some are so called independent releases by big studios and others are just plain weird.

“FROWNLAND” (2007)

Starring: Dore Mann, Mary Wall, Paul Grimstad, David Sandholm & Paul Grant
Written & Directed by Ronald Bronstein
FrownlandInc.com
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Polly Staffle Rating: ****

As the closing credits appeared after the first screening of “Frownland” at the 2007 CineVegas Film Festival, I heard a displeased man a few rows behind me exclaim, “Thank God!” His opinion of the film seemed to be shared by others. Some that didn’t leave during the film, booed and bolted for the exit once it was over.

By the time filmmaker Ronald Bronstein addressed the audience for a post movie Q&A, at least 90 percent of his original audience was no longer in the theater. Those that remained, seemed to not only enjoy his film, but loved it. They were among the few, like myself, that applauded as the odd 16mm movie came to a close.

Why was there such a discrepancy among the viewers of the film? That’s because“Frownland” follows its own rules of storytelling. There is no plot and the narrative is an untamed beast. There are no heroes. There are no anti-heroes. There are no sex scenes. There’s very little violence. Nobody dies. Nothing gets tied up in a nice little package. It’s a character study that looks at characters most people do not give the time of day to.

But it’s more than that. We as viewer don’t simply observe the action. It’s as though we are actually hanging out with these individuals, who seem more real and life-like than most movie personas. Other films show us only the good stuff. We see the female characters at their prettiest and the male characters at their strongest. The weak tend to always overcome and the ugly morph magically into beautiful. None of this happens in Bronstein’s film. He instead serves up a huge dose of realness. For 106 minutes we are trapped inside the awkward world of “Frownland” and a weird little guy Keith Sontag is our best friend.

When we are first introduced to Keith, played brilliantly by Dore Mann, we don’t know what to make of him. He’s a self-described “troll” that lives in the kitchen of a shared one-bedroom apartment. Keith’s roommate, who refuses to pay the electric bill, is mean to him. Most people are. Keith has a problem communicating. He stammers. He stutters. He second guesses himself. He constantly apologizes. His thoughts come out incomplete and sometimes loop back on themselves. Sometimes Keith is so pained trying to communicate that he doesn’t talk at all. He also has nervous ticks and seems to constantly fidget. We are never told what Keith’s aliment is, but my guess is he has social anxiety. Due to this, he also has absolutely no self esteem and seems to suffer from depression.

The film’s opening scene has Keith trying to comfort the teenager Laura, played by Mary Wall. Laura is crying. We do not know why. We also do not know what her relationship with Keith is. Perhaps this is his sister. Nah, it’s probably a potential girlfriend. Regardless, he is unable to cheer her up. This uncomfortable scene to watch is highlighted by Laura at one point stabbing Keith with a thumbtack.

We then tag along with Keith for the next few days. He commutes to work in the back of a van with several other guys. He sits silently as the others talk amongst themselves. Keith is a door-to-door salesman. He hocks coupon books. His pitch is down pat, but when potential customers ask questions or misunderstand his intentions, Keith tends to find himself apologizing and walking away without making a sale.

Slowly during the film, Keith somehow began to grow on me. I’m guessing this wasn’t the case with everyone in the audience. But for me, I went from feeling pained watching Keith, to feeling sorry for him, to becoming intrigued with him, to understanding him a bit and finally, completely fond of him.

One of my favorite scenes in “Frownland” is when we first meet Keith’s obnoxious friend Sandy. To me, it is at this point in the film that the whole thing clicks and I started to feel I was getting Bronstein’s vision. Sandy, played by musician David Sandholm, is a miserable person. He doesn’t like Keith. But if you asked Keith, he’d probably tell you that he and Sandy are pretty tight.

In the scene, Keith shows up at Sandy’s to pick up his work badge that he probably left there intentionally the last time he was over. Keith invites himself in and decides he wants to stay and watch the silent movie Sandy is watching. Sandy tells him he is going to bed right after it is over. Keith falls asleep. Sandy fast forwards the film to the closing credits, wakes Keith and sends him on his way. It’s a wonderful scene. It’s humorous, but also depressingly sad. Just about anyone that sees the film has been on either side of this fence when it comes to relationships. All Keith wants is to belong. He needs a friend. Sandy is too caught up in his own little world that he doesn’t realize how good a friend he could have in Keith. Sure the guy is a bit unconventional, but if Sandy gave Keith a chance, perhaps he would see what a decent person he was.

Another great scene occurs late in the film and doesn’t even involve Keith. For a short bit the movie switches gears and becomes all about Keith’s roommate Charles (Paul Grimstad). After finding himself in the dark, having not paid the power bill and being evicted by Keith, Charles decides it’s time to get a job. While filling out applications, taking tests and trying to get into dialogues with people superior to his intellect, we get to see Charles, a person who bossed around and pushed Keith away, become just as lost and inadequate as his roommate.

“Frownland” then erupts into a hard to watch anxiety-filled night sequence involving Keith. The soundtrack volume seems to get pushed to the highest level possible as Keith runs around frantically for what feels like an eternity. He runs through a party, looks around and heads up some stairs. What is he looking for? We have no clue. Does he find it? Not quite sure. It’s not only hard to watch; it feels as though we are having a panic attack ourselves.

And then Keith opens a door on the roof of a building and steps outside. We see sunlight. The madness has ended. The credits roll over images of Keith wondering around the rooftop. Those that didn’t like Keith can now exit the theater and go back to their happy little lives. If only it was that easy for Keith and those of the world like him.

Going back to what the man a few rows behind me said, I agree with his words, but not his intention. “Thank God” is right. Not thank God that the film is over and I no longer have to be in the presence of Keith, but instead, thank God that Ronald Bronstein created such a wonderful film. “Frownland,” like its lead character, has a lot of heart. Bronstein’s objective isn’t to torture his viewers, but to force them into Keith’s world so they can understand him better. Not in the sense of answering the questions we have about him, but understanding his circumstances of being who he is. Keith didn’t choose to be the way he is and he surely isn’t happy with himself. But unlike his viewers, there’s no theater exit that will lead Keith to another place.

- CCF, June 2007