Saturday, May 2, 2009

USA Film Festival movie review: The Yellow Handkerchief

By John P. Meyer

It was great getting out to the opening night of the USA Film Festival on Wednesday at the Angelika. I arrived on the leading edge of a thunderstorm that must have carried on storming for much of the 90 minutes I was inside the theater watching the movie, as it was still drizzling when I emerged.

As mentioned, I was excited about seeing Udayan Prasad's The Yellow Handkerchief for several reasons - among them the chance to catch a fairly obscure performance from one of my favorite actresses, Maria Bello (seen here at the film's Jan. 2008 Sundance premiere).

I was not disappointed on this count, as Bello's screen time proved to be far more extensive than expected, due to the heavy incorporation of flashbacks into the film story.

Said story involves a just-released-from-prison convict named Brett (William Hurt) who ends up driving cross country (well, more like cross state, since they never leave the bottomlands of south central Louisiana) with a pair of outsider teens named Martine (Kristen Stewart) and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne).

It's not exactly a carefully thought-out arrangement, and their shared journey begins on an ominous note as the river ferry they've just boarded becomes the target of a heavy thunderstorm - plus, they're in a convertible.

Gordy - who owns the vehicle - is an embarrassingly gregarious social misfit who's been hanging out at a small town diner making random remarks to passersby as they come within earshot. He claims to be Native American, and he desperately wants somebody - ANYBODY - to pay him some attention.

Gawky and insecure Martine is desperate to retain the affections of her middle school beau, who she spies spooning in the parking lot with another girl. When Gordy gives up and prepares to drive away from the premises, Martine begs a ride - in order to launch a figurative slap in the direction of her errant boyfriend, with whom she originally arrived.

Brett joins up with these accidental tourists while waiting at the ferry crossing. He and Martine strike up a friendship based mostly on his willingness to express sympathy for her disaffection: he becomes an absentee dad to replace her real one, who's off on another business trip and doesn't even bother leaving concerned fatherly messages on her cell phone.

Early in the movie, as the travelers take refuge in one abandoned backwoods building after another (Southern Louisiana seems to be full of them), we get glimpses of Brett's pre-prison history via daydream flashback; thus we're gradually introduced to his loving relationship with May (Bello). As the real-time road trip story progresses, the flashbacks transform into a visual representation of the story that Brett relates verbally to his traveling companions. They hang on his every word at he spins his tale of improbable romance and unfortunate tragedy.

It's a tale that's open-ended, as Brett reveals that he's sent May a postcard exploring the possibility whether - after six years of state-sponsored separation - she might want to have anything more to do with him. As their drive takes them nearer to her location, the story loses its leisurely quality and takes on the kind of urgency that only a desperate romance can bestow.

There's a lot to like about this quiet, unpretentious, unpredictable (except for the ending) little film, and most of it has to do with great acting. Hurt's character is a kind of naturalistic philosopher who expects nothing out of life but knows better than to begrudge the unexpected bits of goodness that fall within his purview. To his teenage associates he acts as a kind of personal Scared Straight! instructor, demonstrating through word and deed the kinds of complications to which a life of ill-considered actions can lead.

Stewart's Martine conveys a neediness and youthful eagerness to please that is balanced and fed by the spontaneity of the ill-at-ease Gordy. (After becoming accustomed to his character's southern U.S. accent and mannerisms, I was surprised to discover that actor Redmayne was a native Londoner.)

Finally, it was indeed a pleasure watching Maria Bello, whose May persona is too independent for her own good and endures a diminished lifestyle as a result. Until she connects with the equally non-conformist Brett, she has very little to show for her efforts. It's an edgy, complex portrayal that you can just tell Bello enjoyed sinking her dramatic teeth into. (Plus, did I mention she's gorgeous?)

The future prospects of this picture are murky as a Louisiana bayou, as it has not yet (15 months after its Sundance premiere) been picked up for commercial distribution, either in theaters or on home video. It would be a real shame for it to sink into the quicksand of obscurity.

There's plenty more to come at the USA Film Festival, going on all weekend at the Angelika. Just don't show up Saturday night for the Ray Liotta tribute, which has fallen victim to the swine flu cancellation contagion.

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