Evan (Harry Hains in his film debut) is a zombie. No, not of the undead kind, wandering the
landscape in search of its next meal, but the product of a rough childhood and
foster care (a half-dozen different homes by the time he was a teen).
Those experiences have transformed him into something of an automaton,
moving through life alive and alert, but nonetheless cold and distant. This young man, now in his early 20s, is the
focus of writer/director Michael J. Saul’s The Surface, his long-awaited return
to the feature-length milieu (Crush released in 2009, followed by
a number of award-winning short films since then, including Adults
Only and Go Go Reject).
The film is in current release on the festival circuit
(debuting at Frameline this past June) — however, word arrived this past week
from Artizical Entertainment that The Surface will be available for
the DVD arena come Dec. 15.
As the story begins we see that Evan is in something of a
relationship with a young man his own age by the name of Chris (Nicholas
McDonald). It is here that Saul quickly
establishes Evan’s character — he’s detached, ambivalent, distant, while his
partner, of wealth and means, is clinging and needy.
It isn’t working, despite the obvious advantages for Evan …
it’s an environment that feels cold and sterile and it awakens our
“zombie.” There has to be something
more than this.
This “something” arrives in a most unexpected manner. Evan is simply out and about one sunny day
when he happens up a garage sale, a chance meeting with the elderly home owner
and the impulsive purchase of an old 8mm camera and a box of films that went
along with it.
In the context of filmmaker Michael Saul’s cinematography
for The
Surface, the purchase of this “relic” provides the perfect metaphor for
Evan’s path to discovery; an awakening.
It’s a simple technology, rough and textured, as opposed to our modern
world of mega-pixels and perfect clarity … the world of our zombie.
After viewing the films, he returns some time later to the
old man’s home, inspired to edit them into a film of his own making. He comes to find, from the man’s son, Peter
(Michael Redford), that his father has passed away, but is more than welcome to
make use of the equipment in the garage.
From the purchase of the camera, to meeting with Peter and
what follows, it becomes clear that Evan is discovering something within
himself … something that needs to be explored.
The Surface is a nice indie film, pleasing to its intended
audience, but worth a look from an even wider audience for its structure,
camerawork and storytelling.
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