KLRU, The Austin Chronicle, and South by Southwest have teamed up for SXSW Presents, an independent film series airing Fridays at 10pm on Channel 18 (Time Warner Cable Channel 9). Hosted and co-produced by SXSW Film producer Matt Dentler, the second season of the series runs through Dec. 2. This week’s installment is American Detective, about which, when it screened at the festival in 1999, Marjorie Baumgarten wrote “Dan Brown’s impressive debut feature successfully establishes an unsettling tone that veers between the humorous and the creepy. It tells the story of a young, socially awkward loner, Owen Mercer (Jonny Mars), who impulsively responds to a magazine ad and sends away for his credentials to become a private eye. Then, as he graduates into pathologically compulsive behavior, Owen uses the new electronic tools at his disposal to stalk the girl of his dreams. Treated as fodder for dark comedy, Owen’s obsession moves from mere eavesdropping to restraining-order craziness. … The movie’s central performances by Mars, Austin singer Juliana Sheffield, and Bill Wise (as Owen’s screw-loose mentor) are strong. … On the whole American Detective‘s 35mm photography (by DP and co-producer Mark Miks) is handsome and supple.” For more information, see www.klru.org and www.sxsw.com.
This article appears in November 4 • 2005.