Review of Man from Reno (2014) by Mark H — 28 Mar 2015

4 out of 5 stars. Surprisingly good low budget indie film, that echoes Chandler and Hitchcock. Very well written, directed and acted, with 75% of the dialogue in Japanese, even though an American film, effectively shot in San Francisco.

Dave Boyle is the writer/director and he is a real deal filmmaker with this confident, well paced & beautifully photographed film. Even the original score effectively creates mood and tension in this double & triple cross plot, that keeps you guessing until the end.

This film certainly doesn't feel or look low budget and at the post screening Q&A with the cast and director, they spoke about their efforts to keep the budget on the screen by using real locations.

The actors changed clothes in their cars instead of dressing rooms and they had a Kickstarter campaign to finish post production. This film deserves to be seen by any film noir fan because it's a terrific 2 hours spent in the hands of many talented people.

Only point off for being about 10 minutes too long and a few clues that don't resolve, but otherwise one of the first worthwhile 2015 films to seek out.