Lucy is an almost typical young woman. Not quite yet ready to settle down and become the stereotypical adult, yet not quite young enough to avoid the inevitable. That is, until she becomes pregnant by a boyfriend who hasn't decided to grow up himself. As Lucy struggles to cope, and figure out the best course of action for both her baby and herself, we get a front and center pass into the lives of the average, commonly dysfunctional people and family. We all know these kind of folks. Hell, many of us are them. Normal is boring isn't it? Brendan Kane, who wrote and directed this picture, sets out to make a straight laced dramatic film - and on so many levels he hits the mark perfectly. "A Story In Black And White" progresses from start to finish, keeping itself dramatically interesting using his very realistic content; as well as the ability of the actors to keep things moving. There really is nothing fiction feeling about the events that unfold, or the reactions of the people involved. This is all very real, sometimes very dirty stuff. The characters all have their own personalities and problems. Pardon the pun, but nobody is simply black and white. That judgmental parent? She's here. That "perfect" sibling? Yup. They are here as well. Only... that sibling isn't actually perfect, and that parent is only judgmental because of her own life choices. Nobody is perfect. Brendan Kane makes sure of that, resulting in a very real feeling movie. But how does it all stack up in the end? For me? This was a film about tough choices. Plain and simple. The process of making them and the turmoil involved. Decisions. Something we all have in common. The choice to exclude color from this film baffles me. I kept waiting for the reason to make a black and white film to appear, but it never did. Sure. It's the filmmakers choice. It's how they want to present the story. Usually however, a reason exists. To hide some shoddy production work? To emulate the look of yester-year? To showcase some very stylistic lighting and framing choices? For anything story related? After watching, none of the scenarios I've written seem to be the reason. In my humble opinion, the choice to make this film black and white serves no real purpose save being a little gimmicky. Was it a big deal? No. Not really. I do however, think beautiful, modern color would have added so much more. No to mention removing the stress of the viewer, myself in particular, wondering why the film was black and white to start with. More mental space to watch and enjoy the film. Pish-posh you say? Alright then. The real issue I had with "A Story In Black And White" was not with the lack of color, the writing, or even the acting - the acting was actually pretty damn great if you ask me. The problem was that things kind of fell apart on the cutting room floor. This is a very long feeling movie. Had fifteen or twenty minutes been cut from the length, removing the fat from the film, I have no doubt it would have flowed so much better. Glancing at the iMDB page revealed that Mr. Kane also edited the film, and all my questions, regarding length have been answered. Maybe not in every case, but in many... it's usually a bad idea for a filmmaker to also edit their own work. They see, and know, the excellent little things they want to keep in the film. They "know" how things should all play out. Sound like a few reasons why you should edit your own stuff? It's not. What the writer/director "knows" is not always best for a film. That subtle, knowing glance an actor gives - that perfectly explains what is happening... may not be noticed by the "average" viewer. Only the filmmaker sees it, and is sure it adds to the story. It doesn't... it only adds to the length. It's very hard to keep an objective eye when you are so close to the work. "A Story In Black And White" tends to drone on and on. This movie is conversation driven, yet the hard choices were never made. It's a shame because the cast, especially Caylie Rae Kalmbach as Lucy, really pull off some amazing performances. Even the supporting cast go above and beyond expectations, giving this movie a true feeling of realism. Yet... things just drag for a good chunk of the film. Not just during one or two scenes either. That "winded" feel comes and goes throughout the entire film. Had some good housecleaning happened during the edit, I imagine a three and a half, or even four stars would have been my personal rating. Does that mean every viewer will feel the same as myself? Hell no. When it's all said and done, these are my personal feelings. Mine alone. "A Story In Black And White" is by no means a bad film. Having an average indie, low budget flick is nothing to scoff at. Most micro movies are unwatchable! The good contained within this piece is really good. The true to life grit of the story. The excellent character portrayals by a talented cast. These aspects all help keep the ball rolling. There also happens to be one more bonus... this film is free to watch. For anyone who loves a good story and has some free time, why not give this a go? A good film is a good film right? An excellent way to fill out your day. Myself? I'm signing off for now and thanking the cast and crew for a little entertainment on a boring day. A solid two and a half stars.