Review of Bellflower (2011) by Nick A — 20 Jul 2012

In a year that brought big-budget entries from big names like Scorsese, Allen, Clooney, Payne and Fincher, itâ(TM)s definitely a shock that the most thrilling and unique film came from a no name director on a shoe-string budget.

Written, directed, and starring Evan Glodell, Bellflower is the breath of fresh air cinema so truly needed. The film captures the apathetic hipster generation with the same skill as Kerouac captured his, with characters who feel so real its as though the viewer simply stumbled into a house party right in the center of Suburbia, USA.

The film is unlike anything ever seen before, in part due to what is actually being seen. Bellflowerâ(TM)s distinct look comes from the Coatwolf Model II, a camera built by Glodellâ(TM)s production company (Coatwolf Productions) specifically for the film.

The film distorts color, feels burned and scarred, and perfectly captures the emotion of the directionless Woodrow as he drifts through his life. The cast is stellar, and the story is brilliantly compelling without falling prey to the tropes and idioms of the âmumble-coreâ? genre itâ(TM)s been repeatedly lumped into.

Anyone who came of age in the lethargic first decade of the new millennium will recognize these flannel-draped lost boys. You had class with them, you smoked pot with them, or you were them. Like the youth of the 60â(TM)s were Ben and Elaine in The Graduate, and the teens of the 80â(TM)s were all in The Breakfast Club, it is the fate of my generation that we all resides in the distorted, burned sepia world of Bellflower Avenue.

Though perhaps not the most accessible film of the year, it is the one with the most distinct voice, the most unique vision, and the most satisfying catharsis. If Glodell never makes another film, heâ(TM)s still a master of the art form for this brilliant piece.