Delicate State

Even still, writer/director/star Rhodes is clever-as-hell about telling a story about a civil war on the streets of Los Angeles without ever showing an actual civil war on the streets of Los Angeles. Instead, it is conducted with anxiety-inducing lighting, great acting, and sound effects. When the couple takes to the streets, Rhodes takes advantage of city road closures and the all-too-often police helicopter fly-by to give the illusion of a military curfew. Then there’s the whole real pregnancy gimmick, which is pretty incredible in and of itself.

I can’t help but admire how clever and resourceful Rhodes was in crafting the production in true guerilla filmmaking fashion. While watching Delicate State, I was constantly asking myself, “How did she pull that off?” But, unfortunately, this exercise of mine in reverse engineering often disengaged me from the story. As much as Rhodes was able to get around not having to shoot any of the civil unrest, it would have been nice to see something to balance off that cooped-up feeling. But, of course, that goes away when Charlie and Paula finally head out on their own in Walking Dead (minus the zombies) fashion.

“…Rhodes is clever-as-hell…”

The dialogue seems heavily improvised, which feels more annoying than natural 80% of the time. However, Rhodes shows excellent control and discernment in how Paula interacts with Charlie and the other characters. Most improvised films constantly denigrate into mind-numbing ramblings of nothingness. Here, the couple, who are and interact like a real-world couple, shows off their method-acting chops sharing their excitement of being new parents and showing great restraint and efficiency in moving the plot along.

I admire Rhodes and Bodin for the insight to take advantage of their real-life pregnancy and pull off a thriller that works. The best indie filmmakers take risks and find opportunities to be innovative. Though its lack of money limits the film, Delicate State does so much with the resources available and, in the end, tells an exciting story and clever story.