While the real sordid details of their collegiate transgressions are kept offstage, you can still pick up the traces left hanging in the air like the smell of last night’s party. It is enough to feel the huge gulf that exists between where you started and where you ended up. It is by staring into this gulf that life begins to take shape, which is more often terrifying than not. Like the orange package Zig Zag rolling papers, Adkin uses a slow burn method to unfold the drama. We spend the first-hour boozing and bitching until all the s**t comes down hard in the 3rd act. This technique is sometimes used in horror movies to maximize the emotional impact of the reveal. It works here to such a high degree of intensity that you will yearn for the comforting haze of the first act again. But that’s life, as we find we have no pause button and no rewind.
While everyone looks inward, get a load of the fantastic views outward. Cinematographer Stirling Bancroft presents a cavalcade of gorgeous Canadian landscapes with the splendor of a fireworks show. The force behind the composition of Harrison’s favorite screaming perch is especially potent. And Harrison’s performance is a scream. It is the equivalent of a curve ball, with the real movement behind the image sneaking up on you. Harrison achieves a poise that is both elegant and heartbreaking.
“…Bancroft presents a cavalcade of gorgeous Canadian landscapes with the splendor of a fireworks show.”
Smith is acting in the battalion; she does not run out of ammunition. Rarely have I seen an actress as instantly relatable as Smith, as the frustration she wears on her face is seen daily in mirrors everywhere. Martin defines middle-aged cool so well, especially when he is sporting his pipe. His delivery oozes that wisdom that only arrives after being thoroughly fed up. Moore does a lovely job delivering the refrigerated feeling of a life devoted to work with an empty room to go home to. Cross is dead solid, perfect as a person who suddenly finds themselves with a much brighter spotlight than they were expecting. And then there is Lewis, who plunges into the deepest depths of his emotions, considering how well he has spent his life avoiding them.
There is a lot here that a lot of people will recognize. With Re:Uniting, director Adkin has crafted exactly the kind of indie drama my generation needs right now as the view keeps getting wider and dimmer.
"…exactly the kind of indie drama my generation needs right now"
