DONALD CRIED (A-minus) - Add to the pantheon of all-time indie-film freaks and geeks Kris Avedisian's obnoxious Donald, a man-child who can't contain his giddiness when his former high school pal, Peter, returns to their Rhode Island hometown to settle his grandmother's affairs.
Avedisian wrote and directed the screenplay and stars as Donald, the epitome of arrested development, a man who probably still sports the same haircut (a self-chopped mullet) and wire-rimmed glasses from the '90s. Peter (Jesse Wakeman, who helped develop the story) has cleaned up in the 20 or so years since high school, and he now thrives in the banking industry in Manhattan. Having lost his wallet on the bus ride up to Rhode Island, he ventures across from his grandmother's house to bum a ride and a few bucks from the pal he used to share dope-smoking and heavy-metal music with back in the day.
And there is Donald, on cue, emerging from his home into the bitter January cold, amid piles of shoveled snow, wearing a cheap bathrobe to toss a bag of trash into the garbage can at the curb. Soon he is chauffeuring Peter around town, desperately trying to rekindle the flame with his old bud, who acts like he wishes he were anyplace else on Earth. Donald exhibits classic Asperger symptoms, not even remotely perceiving the massive cold shoulder being turned his way. He seems oblivious to social cues and the fact that most adults evolve over the course of a couple of decades. Peter, meantime, is clearly freaked out by the memories of his hometown and the young man he used to be.
The journeys of these two men during their weekend interaction are equally compelling. No surprise that Donald will wear Peter down and get him to let down his guard a bit, engaging in some old-school bonding. A final-reel twist, combined with a stinging betrayal provides the perfect cap to this trainwreck of a reunion.
Bookending and triangulating events is Louisa Krause as Kristin, a realtor (and younger sister of another of the guys' old classmates) who flirts with Peter in the opening scene at his grandmother's house and then returns late in the film to lure him to a pathetic cancer benefit, the perfect spot for a morose drunken hookup attempt. Her manic energy masks an insecurity, and Krause nails each comic beat.
The title of the film comes from a story dating to the high school days, when Peter pulled a humiliating prank on Donald. Reunited, the two men fall into old habits and a familiar pecking order. Donald is just begging to be picked on, and Peter is haunted by the urge to indulge the easy target -- which laces the laughs with a bitter taste (like your very first sip of Old Style sophomore year). Those familiar twinges should be familiar to anyone who wasn't the star quarterback or point guard during high school but who instead battled through adolescence to become the adult they are today. You can look back and laugh, but don't be surprised if you flinch, and maybe well up a little, too.
HERMIA & HELENA (C) - This tone poem about 20-something Argentine women rotating through a fellowship in New York City suffers from a deadly combination -- it is difficult to follow, and no one character stands out enough to care about.
Writer-director Matias Piñeiro nods to Mumblecore with snippets of fleeting, mundane dialogue, and at some point in the film he begins tracking backward in time, creating more confusion than artful intrigue. It was all a jumble of soft-focus images, splashes of literary snippets flashing on the screen, and a bunch of slackers who were difficult to keep straight.
Agustina Muñoz exhibits charm and presence as the ostensible star, playing a woman adrift among relationships who begins exploring her past while translating Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." A father-daughter reunion during the final third has a bit of punch to it, but too much of the narrative is scattered to the winds, making it near impossible to find a hook to hold onto.
But what do I know? Some other critics praised it. Here's a sampling:
- Richard Brody, New Yorker: "Filming cityscapes and intimate gestures with avid attention, adorning the dialogue with deep confessions and witty asides, Pineiro conjures a cogently realistic yet gloriously imaginative vision of youthful ardor in love and art alike."
- Slant Film: "In fact, it may be Piñeiro’s most inspired and thrilling work to date, exhaustive in its means of keeping the viewer off balance and yet rich in its emotional implications."
- Village Voice: "There are a few different potential films within Hermia & Helena — a Shakespeare adaptation, a tale of romantic relationships, a tale of family — but the totality proves a sunny and affable literary collage."
BONUS TRACKS
Speaking of high school reunions back in your old hometown, this humor piece from Shannon Reed in the New Yorker cleverly spoofs the New York Times' popular "36 Hours" travel feature: "Thirty-Six Hours in . . . YourHome Town!"
And the sad little cancer benefit in "Donald Cried" features a bunch of single women half-heartedly dancing to Wang Chung's "Dance Hall Days":
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