Review of Above and Below (2015) by Max P — 07 Sep 2016

I had high hopes for this film but found little satisfaction in it. The glowing reviews in the NYT and Variety reflect about 30 minutes out of a two hour mashup.

At first, the characters are revealed somewhat sympathetically, as exotic creatures living life on their own terms. But the mood quickly changes to a sort of 'there, but for the grace of god go I', or a relative or an estranged friend. But as it plods along, jump cutting between situations, revealing information in spoonfuls, our patience is worn threadbare. To shake the audience from all this sadness, the audience receives a joke, but the laugh the audience responds with is not with the characters, but at them. In a theater setting, it creates the sort of mob disapproval that is palpable at a Trump rally. At that moment, it felt that all sympathy had left the room, that the audience's suspicions about these characters was justified.

To say that these folks are living "off the grid" is incorrect, as they all reveal technological connections (cell phones, laptops) and resourcefulness for mooching off of the same grid. They are not pioneers or farmers but rather hunter gatherers in dumpsters and alleys, availing themselves of social programs helping to support their chosen lifestyles and perhaps receiving additional unrevealed funds, either by theft or other petty crimes.

There are suggestions of mental illness, and examples of drug consumption and throughout the film, the smoking of commercially rolled cigarettes. At $5 a pack, I wonder where and how they came to have an endless supply.

There are some beautiful landscape shots sprinkled through the film, and occasionally the characters indicate an appreciation for their environment. Their lives are not simply a collection of bad choices, failed relationships and willingness to accept a lifestyle that no one in the theater would wish upon anyone. In their respective environments, each sees some measure art and beauty and some measure of grace, to which, I credit the director for including. This humanizes them and allows at least a small connection with the audience.

Ultimately, the film feels phony. How were these characters selected and what was their compensation? Why weren't others who had interactions with the characters interviewed for their perspective?

When the director stops being a chronicler, documenting their reality, and starts altering their reality with scenes that would otherwise not have happened, with ping pong balls to crudely tie the threads together, with fireworks for a rock concert pyro-show effect, and with a spending binge in Las Vegas, he is injecting an artificial energy that belies the documentary format. He wants to celebrate with the characters and has made the decision that their lives can be celebrated on the cheap. This is a relief to the now hostile audience and provides the cynical climax to the film.