It's a mighty fine thing to be watching an indie film, and forget you're watching an indie film. It's something that essentially spits in the face of the notion you need fifty million bucks to make a half decent movie. The polish and visual beauty lots of money can bring, sometimes takes a back seat to simple storytelling. "End Of Fall" reminds viewers that it does happen, as it leads by example bringing it's viewers easily into writer/director Joselito Seldera's tightly knit little world. Once inside, you can strip away all the clever concept distractions and the core story here is simple. Revenge. How much more basic can you get? Revenge always works as a concept. The trick becomes the writers ability to make us think there's more, to add some "reasoning" to the characters and season the meat a little. Here, the salt and pepper of the story revolve around family; the meat itself however, continues to be revenge with a side helping of an opportunistic event. How many of "us" have used a dreadful situation to our own advantage? I'm guessing not many people could say they've never been guilty of such things. The question then becomes when to draw the line or more importantly, would a person even make one? If something happens that isn't your fault, what's wrong with taking advantage? If protecting someone you love also happens to be a benefit of the situation, and the only harm comes to say... an a-hole... why not? These are all ideas flirted with in this film and not in a half-ass way. However the real treat here, is that things never become so complicated that we, the viewers, can't keep up. In the end, everything fits and the smart script does the trick. What's more impressive is that we feel for everyone by the end of the movie. Although our introductions to the characters paint a clear cut picture of who these people are, by the end we get to see the real life individuals in this situation; and clear cut right and wrong, good and evil washes itself out with grey. The bad folks are simply imperfect humans, and the good ones are flawed. Perhaps this is the best trick "End Of Fall" manages to present to us. The true nature of the human being. On the technical side of things I want to make one thing clear. I am not a fan of a moving camera a-la the hand held style of say... Blair Witch. "End Of Fall" is full of it. There's something avidly independent about shots that are not locked off, or on some kind of track. However, for whatever reason, when it comes to this movie I wasn't bothered by it all that much. Maybe it was because the camera wasn't all over the place, as it is in many found footage films. Maybe it was the nice way the film was pieced together. Or maybe, just maybe the film was interesting enough to make me forget about it. Between a nicely recorded dialog track, and some excellent acting chops by the entire cast, it simply became a non-issue. Who cares that the camera moves around a little when the happenings onscreen feel so real? A big high five to the cast for portraying their characters so well; another to the person(s) who cast them. Other than that, "End Of Fall" may not have the "perfectly lit" shot every time, or completely fluid camera work for every scene, but this well written film doesn't need them to do the job. When it came right down to it, I was much more interested in what was happening onscreen, to be bothered by the technical limitations of being an indie film. So that's it then. When it's all said and done, "End Of Fall" is one of those indie films you forget is indie. The concepts at play easily allow you to relate, and maybe even wonder if you would do the same things the characters do. About the only thing more entertaining than a villain you can easily hate, is one you can understand. Maybe even pity and relate to. After all, nobody is perfect. On the flip side, a hero forced into a bad situation can be just as endearing. However, making that hero not quite so heroic, and maybe a more true to life person can be just as powerful. As I approached the final act of the film I wondered how things would end. It seemed that nothing truly good could come out of the situation, and nothing really did. But, when the credits rolled, I couldn't help think that the ending was actually a perfect fit. What other way could it have gone? "End Of Fall" in my humble opinion easily earns it's stripes. A truly well done, entertaining title no matter how you slice it. -JT
