Essentially, every indie film these days has to do it as Sam Fuller did in the opening of The Naked Kiss, with the hooker with the shaved head beating a client: get attention in seconds. Especially when you have a great movie that follows, like The Naked Kiss and now Resentment. Because after four minutes of being very general, Millman gets very specific and boom, boom, out go the lights. Millman is able to pull off that never-ending indie miracle of making a movie spring out of nothing more than actors, a location, and a script. The depth of story engagement from just talk in a bar brought to mind Eagle Pennell’s highly influential indie classic Last Night At The Alamo. The big difference between the two bar-set indie films is that Resentment has a storyline that is absolutely riveting and ultra-juicy.
“Millman is able to pull of that never-ending indie miracle of making a movie spring out of nothing more than actors, a location and a script.”
Millman serves up his superb deep dish drama in three different sections, each with a different woman’s name. Smartly, the sections are in sequential acts, instead of hopscotching around time for the reveals. While the sections join together as a whole, I was surprised by how Millman was able to load up a whole movie’s worth of thrills in each section. The insanely clever dialogue is more exciting than a thousand car chases, and emotional roller coasters spring up out of nowhere. Each part has a fiery, molten core that gives Resentment the power of three movies in one. This is why this small, three-person drama that takes place all in a bar feels so awesomely f*****g epic. It is blunt, provocative, and utterly ruthless. It is also volcanic; I am talking sexy as Hell.
I need a quick word with Ponton, who put in a performance that needs the highest recognition. Girl, you played this so hot that you burnt it right to the ground. Then you melted all the burnt remains until the cinders glowed like fireflies. Ponton takes us on a genuine journey into some of the rawest feelings there are to be had. Resentment is the movie where Ponton breaks through as a star. Gilliard Jr. also does a masterful turn, showing a long range with which to knock them dead. Darragh is a stealth berserker, coming out of an unassuming-looking nowhere to devastate repeatedly. But then again, look at the fantastic material they have to work with. This film would be perfect, except the first four minutes are bunk and the “horticulture” joke doesn’t work unless you explain the whole king of the flowers part. Outside of those minor blemishes, Resentment is an indie masterpiece.
"…absolutely riveting and ultra-juicy."
