Review of Fort Tilden (2014) by Douglas M — 19 Nov 2016

There is a certain endearing quality about stories concerning a journey. This type of story inevitably is one of the oldest, and most enduring types of tales told around ancient campfires up to the most advanced Complexes available. Commonly the modern variant is often referred to as a road trip flick with a car the most likely mode of transportation. That is not to preclude other types of travel. An ideal example is an independent film by filmmakers, Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers, 'Fort Tilden.' This movie is the epitome of why Indy films are crucial to the vitality of the cinematic arts. In this instance, the main story follows a pair of twenty-somethings as they meander around Brooklyn, New York. Their destination is the titular Fort Tilden, a part of a National Recreational Park system. Located on the peninsula of Rockaway Queens, for most people in the other boroughs due to the peculiar geography this area remains relatively isolated from the rest of New York City. I lived most of my like in Brooklyn and worked for a couple of years in Far Rockaway, so I have a person involvement with the locations used in this film. This did help in my understanding of the deeper meanings infused in the story. The film is significantly more involved than the aimless wanderings of a couple of young women roaming the outer boroughs. It is a glimpse into the way the current generation considers life, at least in the microcosm. For those of us, that appreciates the humanity embedded in a simple story that provides a poignant story from the heart. The film is fundamentally a comedy, specifically a satire. Even if you are not part of the generation depicted here the circumstances and responses are universal, you most likely have experienced something that can serve as a means to relate.

A couple of young women, Allie (Claire McNulty) and Harper (Bridey Elliot) are in their twenties sharing a room in Brooklyn. While hanging out with some musician friends on a rooftop they happen to meet a couple of guys, Russ (Jeffrey Scaperrotta) and Sam (Griffin Newman), as young people are prone to do. The guys mention that they are planning to spend the next day at Fort Tilden and Allie and Harper agree to meet them there. The girls promise to bring some Molly, otherwise known as MDMA, or ecstasy. In the morning they start out to their rendezvous but unfortunately the ferries were closed. Forced to make alternate travel arrangements they borrow a bicycle from their upstairs neighbor, Ebb (Neil Casey). Their first stop is to Benji (Peter Vack), a friend of Harper's who deals drugs. He ridicules them as posers, pretending to be musicians. This might seem like a relatively minor piece of dialogue but helps to establish the world that the young women live in and the first hint of their place in it, like so any people in their twenties life is uncertain, a dark mystery looming before them. By calling them, pretenders Benji is exhorting his position over them, possessing the drugs they want, by demeaning them. While this does seem to support the view that this is nothing more than an aimless trek, the implementation of subtle nuances such as this. The essence of the independent film is the ability to relate stories that major studios would not even consider. Huge blockbusters have their place in entertainment but not to the exclusion of deeply emotional stories like this.

Allie and Harper come to a few realizations as they embark on the road trip to hook up with the guys they just met. Midway through their twenties, they are drifting through life. They are without gainful employment, with no means to support themselves. They have no prospects and even less in the way of a drive to move forward. In many ways, the meandering trip to Fort Tilden is representative of the way they handle life. Changes in their short term plans are patched, barely addressed shortly, never resolved. Borrowing the bike is indicative of how they have become overly dependent on the largess of others. Their dismissive and entitled attitudes paint them as fundamentally unlikeable characters in real life you would be reticent to get to know them. The marvelous thing about movies like this includes being able to understand a point of view held by people completely outside your circle of friends. The manner in which these gifted filmmaker's frame this story of these two unlikeable young women forms it into something intriguing and inherently fascinating. Movies, particularly Indies, expose you to people and circumstances you would otherwise never encounter. This is inclusive of experiences that are not particularly positive bit still present a genuine part of humanity.

The girls can maintain this illusion of superiority thanks to the money occasionally provided by Harper's father who works in India. Ostensibly Allie is going to join the Peace Corp, but she hasn't yet gotten around to searching for Liberia on Google. With is perhaps a task that requires the least amount of drive, skill or energy yet Allie still hasn't undertaken this most fundamental step towards fulfilling her stated goal. At this point I became distinctly thankful my daughter had a steady job, and her husband has a career in the Navy. The use of nascent actors supports the underlying format that this story is a slice of life. Highly recognizable performers would bring the audience out of the experience. Indies are a familiar proving ground for all aspects of filmmaking. There is a discernable sense of enthusiasm when you realize that you are watching cinema in its purest form of telling a story.

This lack of direction is further demonstrated by how easily they get sidetracked from their destination and just how little thought they put into things. On their way, they pass a second-hand clothing store. Brooklynites know that this is the part of town to get some finds in vintage clothing. Considering they are already behind due to the ferries are closed, but they don't have anything close to a disposable income that could justify an impulse driven shop. The girls are unable to make the most basic preparations leaving home without considering bringing some way to secure the bikes. Allie convinces Harper to loop the chain around the frames of her bike and Ebb's. While waiting on the line in the store, they watch as a boy effortlessly undoes the chain stealing Allie's bike. They desert the borrowed bike covering it with leaves in hopes of disguising it. They are a self-centered pair with little regard for anyone else. They flag down a cab and with no regard for any firm of budget offer the cabbie $100 to drive them to Fort Tilden. He gladly accepts the offer. During the ride, Allie is complaining about Peace Corp requesting her information to process her entrance into the program. Frustrated, Harper begins to chat with the driver. He tells her that he is originally from Calcutta prompting Harper to mention what her father does over there. Apparently, this strikes a nerve with the driver who flatly announces that her father is a bad man then proceeding to throw them out of his cab. He continues to throw them out of his cab. Most people would readily appreciate how it is possible to find yourself in circumstances that slide quickly from bad to worse, despite the fact that these girls are annoying they are so clueless that you find it difficult to remain angry with them. To balance the story, at least to some degree, the filmmakers decided to have the pair stumble across some kittens and decide to rescue them. This reveals a modicum of concern for others in them although it amounts to calling 911 to report the lost kittens. When they finally arrive and find Russ and Sam, they discover they are with two topless girls. They react by removing their tops as well. Watching this film is in some ways similar to seeing an accident. So much as gone wrong yet you find you are not able to look away. In most stories of this nature, the characters undergo an arch that leads to some lesson or moral enlightenment. Ultimately, the issue with this pair is how resistant they are to change. They give a new meaning to the word clueless as the bounce through life like a ball in a pinball game. They react to external influences but are unable to find any way to be proactive in the course their lives are taking. The strange thing is the story was told well and admittedly I was compelled to seeing it through. This movie is recommended for fans of independent film with eclectic tastes.