The Meat Market (2003)
Robert Christopher Ohlson is one
of Austin most interesting and eclectic filmmakers.
His forth short film, "The Meat Market" is a stunning
continuation in his evolution as a cinematic artist.
Here he has used all the processes and knowledge he
has gained in making his first three short films to
bring us his most linear and coherent work; albeit
with Ohlson, linear and coherent might very well be
misnomers. Still, this is definitely his most accessible
film and his most intriguing, as well as his most
professional and most well constructed.
In order to discuss "The Meat Market"
in its proper context, one must first look at Ohlson's
prior three films. His first, an avant-garde piece
called "824" (the subsequent name of his production
company) was so weird and so droning that it might
easily be dismissed as typical "student film" hogwash.
But insightful viewers will note that even here Ohlson
was quite adept at the language of cinema and at the
processes by which films are made. "824" featured
a shot that slowly zoomed in on a picture of an office
building until all that was visible in the frame was
one window of the building. While the piece began
and ended with rather typical narration, its body
was several minutes of Ohlson whispering and asking
"Can you see me?" and "What am I learning" repeatedly.
What was most impressive here was Ohlson's professional
approach to the film. His film featured consummate
camera work and sound recording. This was no "backyard"
video production and the professional quality of the
work made the piece much more intense and complex.
"11th and Congress," Ohlson's second
film, was an ambitious attempt at narrative that somehow
lost meaning in its transference from page to film.
Still, the progress as a filmmaker continued as Ohlson
added all the necessary elements: Actors, script,
plot, locations, camera work, and even special effects.
Of all his shorts, this one has the most obvious connection
to "The Meat Market" because it, at least, contains
what might be considered "standard" storytelling devices.
"I Love You" was another avant-garde
film but here Ohlson continued utilizing the skills
as a filmmaker he had gained with the making of "11th
and Congress." "I Love You" again featured actors,
set, and interesting camera work. Ohlson also upped
the ante on his cinematography, moving to a more rich
and colorful palette and becoming more ambitious with
his visual panache. The storytelling was back to the
avant- garde formula, however, with his characters,
a man and a woman, endlessly repeating the title of
the film while changing inflection and therefore the
seeming meaning of the words. Their actions also became
more intense and violent as the film progressed. And
while this film was better than the two that preceded
it, including the more advanced style and cinematography,
it still fell comfortably into the quirky arsenal
of Ohlson's eclectic works.
With "The Meat Market," we find
Ohlson utilizing all he has done up until now to its
best effect. His film is linear yet it ends with one
of the most absurd scenes ever to come out of Austin
filmmaking. He tells a story that we can easily relate
to yet he puts it in a context that is challenging
and unique. And his techniques and instincts are right
on target. He uses awesome actors. His editing is
perfection and he works hard to establish flow and
pacing. He has gorgeous visuals to show us and utilizes
the wide palette of film stock types, including the
use of Super 8 film, HD video and DV cams.
In addition, Ohlson procures a score
from one of the most talented musicians working in
Austin today. He locates interesting shooting locales.
Austin has a wide variety of filmmaking talent and
filmmaking tools to draw upon and Ohlson gets the
best for every job in the film.
First is his cast. Ohlson utilizes
the Zellner Brothers, David and Nathan, two of Austin's
most unique personalities and filmmakers in their
own right. (Ohlson also used David in "I Love You").
The Zellners bring just the right amounts of warmth,
honesty, humor, panache and pathos to the film. They
are absurdist yet real, over-the-top yet honest. This
is a quality that is apparent in their own works as
well and Ohlson is wise to tap into that. For those
of us who are fans of the siblings, it is also nice
to see them switching typical roles per se with Nathan
here playing the "smarter" and more "normal" of the
two. David is a revelation in "The Meat Market" proving
that he is just as capable as his brother at performing
quirky, oddball characters of smaller intellect.
To make the entire film work on
even a higher level, Ohlson hires Paul Norton, a well-known
Austin theater actor, to play the most zealous and
outrageous character. Only an actor of this caliber
could take Ohlson's absurd script and turn it into
something close enough to realistic to work. The characters
and acting here are simply superb.
Ohlson also hires Jay P. Lipa, fast
becoming the most notable cinematographer in Austin,
to lens the film. Lipa works (in concert with Ohlson)
in so many diverse types of film stock that the finished
product here becomes a gorgeous hodgepodge of imagery.
The film movers effortlessly and fluidly from image
to image, never becoming boring or pretentious and
always remaining interesting and beautiful. The film
owes much to the way it is lensed in that it becomes
edgy when it needs to be edgy, sharp when it needs
to be sharp, warm when it needs to be warm. Much of
this, of course, must also be attributed to editor
Aaron Vega who makes all of these transitions work
seamlessly and flow smoothly.
And finally there is the amazing
score by Graham Reynolds. As one of Austin's most
unique musical talents, Reynolds is the perfect choice
to score any film. Since Ohlson is mainly working
in drama and pathos here, Reynolds' melancholy and
pointed score perfectly accentuates the piece. This
is the icing on the cake, so to speak. The final touch
of the film that continues to elevate it above the
mundane.
What Ohlson does so perfectly with
this film is what makes Austin such an amazing place
to make movies. Ohlson orchestrates his film utilizing
the best of what the city's filmmaking pool of talent
has to offer. Sure, I imagine Ohlson spent a little
money getting the film made, after all, these are
professional people who are fast becoming known as
the most consummate and unique talents in the local
industry. But the price is not too high to pay in
order to produce one of the best short films ever
made in Austin. With "The Meat Market" Ohlson again
proves he is a unique filmmaker with an eye on the
unusual. His films may be too wild and unusual for
some tastes, but they are never dull nor typical.
Most importantly, "The Meat Market" acts as much as
resume for Austin talent as it does absurdist masterpiece.
Note:
Viewed on a DVD provided by the
filmmaker in September 2003.
