Letting go of someone you loved is never an easy thing to do. Monsoon, by Director Miguel Duran, explores this touchy subject matter in his latest project.
Childhood friends John (Austin Lyon) and Sarah (Katherine Hughes) are spending their last summer together before John leaves his small town in Arizona for the big city of New York to attend college.
Just after finally admitting they have feelings for each other that go beyond “friendship,” the couple find themselves involved in a horrific car accident that leaves Sarah dead, and John having to deal with the fact that she’s gone. And part of dealing with it is seeing and conversing with her spirit.
Wanting to help John move forward with his life, his mother and father arrange for him to get a job after he declined to attend college in the fall. After reluctantly taking the gig, he starts to make some friends, go out to parties, and even starts to move on with Caitlyn (Yvette Monreal), a girl he happens to work with. But he still hasn’t completely moved on from Sarah (whom he still talks to), which complicates his new relationship.
“…a horrific car accident that leaves Sarah dead, and John having to deal with the fact that she’s gone.”
It’s not until he has to face that his grandmother is dying that he realizes he has needs let go of the past and create a future for himself. So he decides it’s time to leave everything behind, including Caitlyn, and go to college as he planned.
Monsoon isn’t the movie you’re going to pre-order tickets for and line up at midnight to see. Nor is it going to be a movie that will move you in a way that watching an episode of NBC’s This Is Us will.
Here’s the problem…
The acting suffers (a lot) in the movie, especially when it comes to Austin Lyon. And the rest of the cast feels pretty wooden as well, with the exception being Yvette Monreal who does provide for the movie’s warmer moments. Another decent performance came the Brady Bunch’s, Eve Plumb, in the role of Gale, John’s salty grandmother who brought a few funny moments in the film.
“…Eve Plumb, in the role of Gale, John’s salty grandmother who brought a few funny moments in the film.”
The story itself suffers from a weak second half. There are moments the film seems to be heading somewhere interesting, but basically just falls flat once it arrives there. I’m not completely sure if it’s a case of lazy writing, or if Miguel Duran just had a very specific story he wanted to tell regardless of entertainment value?
At the end of the day, Monsoon feels like what we older folks call an “Afterschool Special.” And where it really fails is, It’s supposed to be a movie that makes you feel something! When dealing with the subject of death, tragedy, and young love, you should care about the characters involved. Unfortunately, I think the only thing most people will feel after watching this film is boredom… and maybe a little anger for wasting their time.
Monsoon (2018) Directed and Written by Miguel Duran. Starring Austin Lyon, Yvette Monreal, Katherine Hughes, Eve Plumb, and Scott Lowell.
5 out of 10
