Everything Moves Alone. D. Mike Aransky. Written by Thomas Edward Seymour. Starring Philip Guerrette. Here's another little oddity. The filmmakers chose to make a low-budget drama about a young man coming to a small town in the hopes of reconciling with his estranged brother, and finding something else to do entirely during his stay. It's not a Clerks rip-off, however, nor is it a self-referential, smarmy Edward Burns-type of thing. Everything Moves Alone owes more to John Sayles in terms of crafting an evenly-paced character-driven story. Scotch (Phil Guerrette) left home and joined the army after the death of his abusive parents, and has been searching for his older brother since his discharge. Brother Rob (Mike Aransky) is a near-psychotic who has bad blood with nearly everyone in town. Scotch's only friend is Anderson (Thomas Edward Seymour), who is in the middle of an-ongoing and bizarre feud with an abusive video store clerk, and has a history that he is hesitant to talk about.

Not terribly much happens in Everything Moves Alone, which is sort of the point of the movie. Everyone's lives are pretty much empty until you can connect emotionally with someone else. The film is episodic and drags a little at times, particularly towards the end. But there are nice touches of human character throughout, and particularly interesting is the idea that reconciliations can come, with time and hard work, but unlike the Hollywood love-fests that come after an "I'm Sorry", there are few hugs, and there is still plenty of hard work remaining to mend cracks in relationships.

Everything about Everything Moves Alone is above average. Director Aransky proves himself to be the weakest actor of the film, but impresses the viewer with his skill of visual story-telling. He never resorts to showy angles or p.o.v. shots, preferring to let the script drive the story. His direction never tells the audience "this is what you should be looking at!!" or "This is what you should be thinking!" His skill is a welcome restraint. Seymour's script tends to meander at times, and some of the dialogue is wince-inducing (a few lines downright teeth-grinding), but, again, he has crafted believable characters and interesting connections. One of Sayles' earliest rules in his films has been that relationships should be complex, no each character should be connected to at least two others, and better if more. Seymour employs this rule beautifully, painting a complex picture of a small town without having to show you everyone in it. (If there is any character completely out of place it is that of an offensive presumably-homosexual character named Josh, who is completely over-the-top, and whose only purpose to provide the basis of ridicule. On the other hand, everyone knows somebody who, if placed on film, would seem beyond belief, so perhaps Josh isn't as out-there after all).

And as Scotch, co-producer Phil Guerette is almost without a bad scene. His quiet command and presence nearly dominates every scene. He is the audience's emotional center, and he speaks as much with his bewildered silences as he does with his seemingly effortless delivery of his dialogue. All in all, the gentlemen behind Everything Moves Alone are filmmakers who should be watched for in the future.

Visit the producers at their website at Hale Manor.com

Home