In my ongoing efforts to get out of my rut and out the door to do something, I accepted an invitation from a friend to join him and his girlfriend at the Palm Springs International Film Festival premiere of A Thousand Cuts.
I have been “Facebook friends” with producer Kim Waltrip for about a year and have yet to be able to see one of her films. This was the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy an evening and I was not disappointed.
The film, produced by Kim and Jim Productions and directed by Charles Evered, was touted to be a “psychological thriller” and is a departure from the comedy/family fare previously produced by Waltrip.
Spending the past three decades in radio, television and video production has presented me the opportunity to interact with a distinctive parade of characters, but I have yet to become involved or included with the “Hollywood Crowd.” After an unsettling opening credit sequence the film threw me into what I can only assume is a typical Hollywood party. Everywhere the camera looked people posed for one another and made sure they were talking to the “right” people. The film’s few lighter moments occur at this party as one man pitches an idea of Jaws meets The Little Mermaid and—in one of my two most memorable highlights of this movie—a young man played by Ramon Ramirez shows another party-goer his Tom Cruise impersonation and then follows with his version of Han Solo played by Christopher Walken. Great job (but I am a sucker for good “Walken’s”)!
The film quickly turns from over-sized egos preening for one another to its over-all tone of creepiness as we catch glimpses of Frank, played by Michael O’Keefe, trying to crash the party. O’Keefe was nominated for an Academy Award opposite Robert Duvall in The Great Santini, but will be known to the masses for his role as Danny Noonan in Caddy Shack. He certainly hasn’t lost his dramatic chops.
Once horror film director, Lance (played by Michael A. Newcomer in his feature film debut), gets fed up with some lighting problems and promptly sends everyone home, director, Evered begins to draw us into what becomes a tense interaction between the two stars of this film.
Having produced TV programs myself and having always loved movies, I begin watching every film by noticing lighting or wondering why the director chose a certain camera angle. It didn’t take long for me to think, “Wow, this all takes place at night, what a crew schedule that must have been!” But in no time I was drawn into the drama before me as this loner (O’Keefe) begins to teach this egocentric director (Newcomer) about the difference between film horror and real life horror.
I’ve never been into horror films and all of the slasher and gore films in history have gone unseen by me. While there is some blood in this film (my second highlight is when Frank licks his fingers!), this film is about human emotion, shortcomings and personal responsibility; and Evered and his cast sucked me right in.
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There were a few times in the film where I found myself leaning forward in my seat, trying to guess what would happen next.
It didn’t take me long to realize that there could be no happy ending here and the movie offers no excuses. For me it was an extreme demonstration of how our actions have consequences and though all of us can quite adeptly rationalize away any and all responsibility for our actions and life decisions, those consequences still exist and are inescapable. The screenwriters did a masterful job of turning the psychological tables at one point and revealing Frank’s own part in the tragedy he places entirely at the feet of Lance.
My admiration for the work of this cast and crew was redoubled following the film when, at the Q&A, it was revealed that this film was shot in only ten days. Yes, folks, it doesn’t take hundreds of millions of dollars worth of explosions and special effects to create good entertainment.
I remember my days as a college theater student many decades past. My friend Steven Mark Porter and I once observed how we’d see fellow students back stage following their poor performances and tell them how good they were. He said to me, “Makes you wonder what they really think of my performances…”
Though I’d never met my Facebook friend, Kim, I left the theater hoping I’d pass her in the lobby so I could officially introduce myself and tell her how much I loved this movie. On the extremely slim chance Kim is having those same thoughts we young theater students had years ago, I’ll say here and publicly, Go See This Film!
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When I finally made it to Kim, she was gracious and acted as if we’d been friends for years. She immediately thanked us for coming and invited Gene, Joanna and me to their private cast and crew party. We hesitated before going in, looking at each other and saying, “We’re really not part of this crew… but Kim did invite us…”
But, once inside, everyone went out of their way to make us welcome. When I caught Michael O’Keefe’s eye and nodded him a great job! he answered by extending his hand and thanking me for coming. Very kind and gracious people, all.
My final highlight of the evening was exchanging hugs with friend, Elaine Church. I’d known she was working on the film but didn’t know she had a part. It was great to see her on the screen, her charm and personality shining through as always.
Thank you Kim for including us in your well-deserved celebration and I look forward to your next project! And put me down for a DVD for A Thousand Cuts when they’re ready.
