Beach Pillows Review
To many people, the name Sean Hartofilis means nothing, but this may soon change, and it should. With Beach Pillows, Hartofilis has become first-time director and producer, and what a debut it is.
Beach Pillows, on the surface, is about a young man named Morgan Midwood (Geoffrey Arend) whose life essentially falls to pieces; he has failed as a writer, his long time girlfriend is cheating on him with a close friend, and an incident with another friend will soon land him before a judge for a breaking and entering trial. But the film is more than that. While it does help that the plot is engrossing all on its own, the film is more about ideals, and the trials of life. The tagline, "Let your goose loose...and see where it flies" is all encompassing of that. It is about letting go of the things that keep you down and doing what you love, and what you want to do. In the latter part of the film, Morgan's friend and companion throughout the film Nick (Vincent Kartheiser) states "We are all Morgan Midwood." Although at the time it may seem like a desperate attempt to help a friend, there is meaning to be uncovered here. Morgan is an infinitely relatable character, each and every one of us has had failures in life, large or small. We have all come to a point where it seemed that nothing was going right, and we didn't know where we could possibly turn, and perhaps if we just let outselves loose, we could find our places in this life.
Watching Beach Pillows is like a breath of fresh air. The dialogue is clever, biting, and at times downright hilarious. The performances, specifically by leading men Geoffrey Arend and Vincent Kartheiser, are perfectly understated, making them feel as though these were real people, or maybe even reminding us of someone from our own lives. Beach Pillows is able to evoke several different emotions within the viewer in it's 96 minute runtime, and while some may cite this as the film being uneven, I personally feel that it is remarkably effective. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the film is as much about ideology and finding your way in the world as it is these specific characters lives, and in life's journey one may experience a sort of roller-coaster ride. There is no definitive feeling which runs all through a stretch of life, and I feel that Beach Pillows really captures this in its ability to sway you at any moment. Also like in life, there is no varnish on this film. Things have not been cleaned up for the viewer, they are presented as one may encounter them in their own life. This too, lends itself to a sense of authenticity that I feel runs through the work.
The film is fantastically directed as well, with some beautiful and truly interesting cinematography. It seems that Sean Hartofilis has already began to develop a clear and effective style, and shows great promise as an upcoming filmmaker. I most definitely advise you to to check out Beach Pillows on Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, etc. and also follow the film's page on twitter! (https://twitter.com/BeachPillows) If you like this review, you can also like my page on facebook! (https://www.facebook.com/HoboHippyFilms)
4.5/5 Stars
