When a Man Falls in the Forest
D: Ryan Eslinger; with Dylan Baker, Timothy Hutton, and Sharon Stone.
Twentysomething angst is raging through the SXSW Film Festival this year, so it’s (sometimes) interesting to see the forty-something version. Eslinger explores people stumbling through their lives post-dream and trying their best to avoid emotional contact. Baker shines as the nerdy guy from high school prone to repeat beatings. Now he works nights as a janitor, hides in a too-clean apartment, and listens through the wall as the neighbor is beaten by her husband. Hutton and Stone are the high school cool kids grown into a cold, morose marriage. As the film progresses, all three are forced to face where their choices have placed them and move toward various levels of change. Hutton proves an interesting truth-teller for the rest of the angst ridden, while Stone’s mopiness tends to grate. But this is really Baker’s story and watching his nerd slowly break free of the cocoon makes it all worthwhile.
7pm, Alamo Downtown
This article appears in March 16 • 2007.