• Review: Moments of Clarity (2016)

    From Mark R. Leeper@21:1/5 to All on Thu Mar 24 12:46:39 2016
    MOMENTS OF CLARITY
    (a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

    CAPSULE: Apparently-autistic and flighty Claire is
    considered the "nut" of the neighborhood, even when
    she goes around delivering her baked muffins to
    near-strangers. Now she gets to see some of the rest
    of the world. A trip to a store with her pastor's
    daughter turns into an extended road trip when the
    two personalities clash. Both women will learn about
    family secrets and will gain an appreciation for each
    other. The plot is rather generic and familiar but
    there are moments good humor and, yes, clarity. Stev
    Elam directs a script by Christian Lloyd and Kristin
    Wallace. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

    Claire (played by Kristin Wallace, who co-authored) is in her mid-
    twenties and is the pariah of most of her neighborhood. She is
    obsessively merry as she flits around on the street, but where she
    goes disasters seem to follow. Nearly everyone she knows shuns her
    presence. And just as cheerful as Claire is, so is Claire's mother
    Henrietta (Saxon Trainor) dour. The mother thinks of little but
    danger and of her own fears. Then there is Danielle (Lyndsy
    Fonseca), the daughter of Claire's minister, Pastor Paul (Mackenzie
    Astin). She has some sympathy for Claire, but is uninterested in a
    deep friendship.

    As she often seems to be, Claire is at the wrong place at the wrong
    time resulting in a hit-and-run driver causing the destruction of
    Danielle's Super 8 camera. Somehow Danielle accepts the blame that
    should have gone to the driver. The two women agree to go to a
    nearby town to replace the camera. Instead their trip turns into
    an unexpectedly long and emotional drive of mutual and self-
    discovery.

    Claire lives in a Twilight-Zone-ish world in which nearly everyone
    seems to be just a bit off-kilter. Claire is considered strange,
    but there is enough bizarre in the town to go around. Every male
    her age Claire meets seems obsessed with his own sex kinks. One
    exception, however, is Trevor (A. J. Rauth) whose only eccentricity
    is playing a ukulele in a restroom. Trevor complicates Claire's
    relationship with Danielle.

    The characters' behaviors are strange, but are not really
    consistent. Henrietta is debilitated by her fear of the outside
    world, but later seems to function in it reasonably well.
    Inconsistent behavioral quirks seem dropped on the characters at
    random. The story is about as predictable as what day of the week
    tomorrow will be. The script strives to leave the viewer feeling
    good, but not in a particularly believable way. This is a film
    that relies heavily on a suspension of disbelief in the characters.
    And perhaps we have had enough films in which psychological
    problems are considered cute and funny. I rate moments of clarity
    a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10. MOMENTS OF CLARITY will
    have its US release on March 30, 2016.

    Film Credits:
    <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3359754/combined>


    Mark R. Leeper
    Copyright 2016 Mark R. Leeper

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