If Alexander Payne had been born a little later, then perhaps his Sideways, mixed with Ernest Cline’s Fanboys, might have played a little like writer/director Glenn Garrabrant’s emotionally resonant and nostalgically driven drama, Local Area Network.
Michael Farca’s soulful performance as the story’s core character, Paul, used to live the life that made him happy. He had his dreams, his art, and he had Erica (Molly Hodge), the high school sweetheart with whom he was going to conquer the world.
The problem is that Paul and Erica are no longer a couple. And Paul, well, the break-up crushed him. In fact, it nearly killed him, or rather, Paul tried to kill himself multiple times. So, after being checked into a mental health facility to help deal with his issues. Each weekend is a best buddy from the good old days. Sam (Jeff A. Smith) takes Paul out to help him find his former self.
They hit up the old haunts, the arcade, the comic book store, before finally heading to their other buddy George’s (Charlie Bain) place, or more specifically his basement to partake in that thing that brought these boys together back in the day, a LAN party, once a commonplace occurrence in the early 2000s, comprising gaming via a series of PCs linked, but not hooked up to the internet.
“Each weekend is best buddy from the good old days. Sam takes Paul out to help him find his former self.”
The meetings and memories work well for Paul. But he constantly feels tired, ill at ease, blaming the mix of medications he’s on for the issues. Sam does most of the heavy lifting, being there to make sure his friend is comfortable and not left alone, or when he might attempt self-harm. Paul encounters and builds a new romantic attachment with Katherine Bellantone’s Therese.
But the specter of the past is all over social media, as Erica posts pictures of her happy existence with her new husband. While all the people around him try to divert his focus away from his past hurts and failures, Paul struggles, culminating in a fiery encounter with his former partner, which sends Paul back into a spiral.
Sam doesn’t retreat nor surrender. As much as Paul pushes him away, they are brothers now, more than friends, and the need to see Paul sever himself from the path of self-destruction becomes a constant battle. Because while Paul makes out that he’s growing up and moving on, let’s just say, appearances can deceive, and, as we all know, sometimes we say we’re okay, when really, we’re the furthest thing from.
Local Area Network hit this reviewer hard, especially in relation to the picture’s climax, which I shall not divulge, yet it reminded me again that the people who shape our journeys till our number is called are not constant. Sometimes those who have had the most impact we may only know for a day, a month, a year, a season. We imagine these people in our lives forever, but that, sadly, is not the reality. Finally, it is the quote attributed to Goethe that sums this movie perfectly, as it states: “A human life remains of consequence not because of what we leave behind, but because we act and inspire, and arouse others to action and inspiration.”
"…emotionally resonant and nostalgically driven drama..."
