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DVD I Used to Be Darker
 Run time: 90 min Rating: 5.5 Genres: Drama | Music Director: Matthew Porterfield Writers: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield Stars: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Ned Oldham |
| Storyline When Taryn, a Northern Irish runaway, finds herself in trouble in Ocean City, MD, she seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore. But Kim and Bill have problems of their own: they’re trying to handle the end of their marriage gracefully for the sake of their daughter Abby, just home from her first year of college. A story of family revelations, people finding each other and letting each other go, looking for love where they’ve found it before and, when that doesn’t work, figuring out where they might find it next. Written by Anonymous |
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| Plot Keywords: runaway, family relationships, claim in title | |
| Details: Country: USA Release Date: 25 December 2013 (France) |
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| Box Office Opening Weekend: $3,533 (USA) (27 September 2013) Gross: $21,964 (USA) (8 November 2013) |
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4 comments
What to do when your world is in turmoil? You escape. Taryn, a Northern Irish runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in the USA only to discover that they are on a rocky road themselves. Taryn connects with Abby, her cousin and becomes a bridge of sorts as this family transitions into a new dynamic. This movie has some very emotionally charged scenes and shares the truth that no matter how bad you think you may have it, the grass is not always greener on the other side. In this movie it shares the tale of the realities and complexities of the modern family. Change is a constant force and no one is immune to the complexities of family dynamics. I saw this film as part of the Atlanta Film Festival
Here we have a fantastic drama with such deep feeling being thrown here, and there like paint at a canvas. Every character in this movie comes out as a real person, and the story is so real, and intimate that you will feel drawn in. I was extremely impressed with the music, for a movie that would not be labeled a musical outright, the music deserves a lot of credit. The relationships between the various family members are all strained in different ways that will hit home for you at least once, and the reactions of the characters to each other's flaws, and problems will feel as real to you as watching people you know. Surprisingly I really Enjoyed this movie, it started out really badly, but there is a moment just a little ways in that bonds the movie to you, and then the music holds you there. I really recommend this to everyone, there is some language, but really it's joking about the difference in cultures and never malicious. If you like a good bit of drama, and really love the feeling of being a voyeur then this is a family that you should watch for just a little while.
Seems to be like a trend in American stuff right now. At least with the films I saw at the festival. Movies with non-actors. Some kinda realism stuff, ya know? This DEF had style and was feeling some of it. Music was pretty darn cool in spots. Some parts were "hella" slow. Some with the parents were pretty okay. but ya gotta know its a weird film. If this movie sounds like it's right up your alley, by all means go and watch it. But to me most people this movie will still be weird! No not bad, just weird!
I'm def interested in seeing this guys other films though. He has a "coolish" vibe going on.
Matt Porterfield directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Amy Belk for this indie film, which highlights family discord and strife. My biggest problems with the movie were that the discord and strife was realistically presented, apparently by non-professional actors, but there's virtually no attempt at resolution of their problems, which I thought left me in limbo and not really entertained. Also, the backgrounds and histories of the main characters were lacking so it was hard for me to really understand where they were coming from or where they might be going.
The story revolves around 19 year-old Taryn (Deragh Canpbell), who has run off from her parents in Northern Ireland to Ocean City, Md (with no indication of where she got the money)., where apparently her mother had grown up. After a test reveals she is pregnant, she arrives unannounced, in Baltimore, at the home of her Aunt Kim (Kim Taylor), Uncle Bill (Ned Oldham) and cousin Abby (Hannah Gross).
Unbeknownst to Taryn, she arrives right in the middle of a bitter separation between Kim and Bill, which has deeply affected Abby as well. Both musicians at one time, Bill has chosen to focus on his business, a concrete company, while Kim has continued her music and is moving in with two of her group's members. Towards the end of the film, we'll hear a couple of songs from Kim, whom I thought has a wonderfully melodious voice (she's already an accomplished singer).
Overall, I liked Porterfield's second movie "Putty Hill" quite a lot more than this one. In that film, I thought the characters were presented more in depth and there were attempts of resolutions to feelings and situations. Not that I expect everything to be "wrapped up in a neat bow" by a filmmaker, but I felt in this latest movie he went too far in just leaving the viewer hanging.