Able Edwards (2004)
This independent feature sure has
a lot going for it when it comes to marketing. Pushed
as an "All Digital - All Greenscreen" film, "Able
Edwards" is one of the most intriguing and titillating
indie films to appear at film festivals across America
this year.
It certainly starts off nicely as
well. The opening credits are atmospheric and beautifully
shot and the film seems like it is going to be a captivating
visual event on the order of "The American Astronaut."
As the plot begins to unfold, everything certainly
seems promising. Drawing on familiar rumors surrounding
Walt Disney, the piece beings to take an interesting
story and seems destine to entertain.
With it's bold black and white images
and its interesting approach, one is immediately drawn
into thinking that the film could be the modern day
digital "Citizen Kane." And when writer/director Graham
Robertson begins to infuse the Disney myth into the
story, one feels as if he were taking Orson Welles
original film and modernizing it for the digital age
substituting the animation giant for Welles' 30's
icon, the monolithic William Randolph Hearst.
But for all its interesting ideas
and cool posturing, "Able Edwards" certainly leaves
a lot to be desired. Working off the idea of cloning,
and creating a cloned character who knows he is a
clone, the film seems to leave itself with no real
dramatic punch. This film goes somewhere, but nowhere
that we seem truly interesting in seeing it go. And
while the titular clone has moments where he questions
his existence as a man-made entity, much of the dramatic
punch of the film seems to be missing.
Sadly the biggest problem with the
film is lead actor Scott Kelly Galbreath who is simply
incapable of pulling off the industrial sized asshole
he is meant to deliver here. Galbreath is obviously
acting throughout the film. And while several of the
special effects are quite stunning, too often the
greenscreen seems poorly done. This, in addition to
the lackluster script make the film seem, well, lackluster.
No doubt about, Robertson is smart,
perhaps the wisest filmmaker since the days of William
Castle. He has no budget and can't afford to create
the amazing world he has scripted here, so he opts
for the best special effects he can get for his buck.
And instead of trying to hide what could be considered
a defect in the eyes of some, he offers that situation
as the film's ideal. He even goes so far as to keep
his camera stationary and film every scene from exactly
the same spot in front of the greenscreen. When his
actors are suppose to be walking down a hall, for
example, they are obviously walking in place.
But for all its marketing ploys
and its extremely interesting devices and intriguing
set-ups, "Able Edwards" seems like a huge missed opportunity.
We expect the film to be eerie and atmospheric, especially
after the awesome opening sequence, but it is not.
There seems to be a chance for something groundbreaking
and monumental to happen here. Sadly, it doesn't.
Still, you got to respect the marketing. This is one
of the films I really badly wanted to see this year.
Note:
The score by Michael Suby is really
nice but his motif tune begins with the same three
notes as Patti Smith's "Going Under" and that started
to distract me.
Prior to this film Robertson worked
on over 15 major Hollywood films and Tv products,
primarily as a set dresser.
The film played at SXSW in 2004.
Viewed on a DVD provided by the
filmmakers in April 2004.
