Back against the wall [DVD]

Midwest experimental filmmaker James Fotopoulos embraces his trademark grim cinematic style for his third feature, a film that explores the themes of loneliness, isolation, relationship dysfunction and personal alienation. Levey is a depressed and physically ill man, living in a stark apartment with few furnishings and little to occupy his time other than stew over the comings and goings of his attractive girlfriend, June who works in a strip club. Levey also plays chess and ping-pong with his disfigured friend Ed, who lusts after June. In the second chapter June leaves Levey for the more dynamic Vince, and to her dismay, is soon performing in pornography. In the final section Ed is witnessed in his flat where he is visited by an array of prostitutes. This film is all about the possibilities of aggression, violence, repressed angers and despondency. There is a seething despair that permeates the mise-en-scene, rendering the viewer poised for interactions, for revelations, for insights (verbal and symbolic) into these protagonists’ plights. Haunting score by Tom Nicholl, Bob Davies and Alex Horm, presents a warped industrial sound-scape utterly joyless in its evocation of the limited opportunities and futureless possibilities where these characters dwell. Cast includes Martin Shannon, Michael Wexler, Debbie Mulcahy and Ernie E. Franz.