Gravesend

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: D     Film: B-

 

 

One of the most important aspects of any film that is never really considered is the budget.  Whether a film is a big budget production or a low budget production there is always money involved in some way.  What is vital about this is that money never equates with quality.  Million dollar films can be just as disastrous as films made on shoestring budgets, while some Indie films can come up with some great ideas that utilize every dollar along the way.  Gravesend is an example of a film that was shot for a few thousand dollars and generally speaking put everything forth onto the screen. 

 

This does not necessarily mean that the film is successful on any level, but it did manage to incorporate all of its funds into wise investment.  The acting, the production, and the camerawork can be looked at in an amateurish way or as a professional trying to get an amateur look.  There is always a more polished look though when a top-notch director chooses to go with a more lackluster production in terms of its visual style.  Take for example the work done in Traffic by Steven Soderbergh. While certain scenes have a gritty and worn effect, there was still an aesthetic quality that demonstrated that some newcomer did not do this. 

 

This same idea is seen in ‘art’ films.  There is a difference between making an art film and trying to make an art film.  If a film is an art film it was never trying to be one, but ended up so.  It is when a film tries to hard that it ends up failing miserably.  Gravesend attempts to be hyper-real and graphic.  This has become a popular trend as directors such as Larry Clark demonstrated in his 1995 film Kids, which followed a group of kids in their everyday routine of sex, drugs, and violence. 

 

Gravesend starts out quickly as we are introduced to four friends from an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn.  What begins as a typical Saturday night transcends into a night of fighting, killing, and all out craze.  It is in these times that friendship is tested when put under pressure.  Gravesend manages to capture the natural and smooth dialogue between these friends, which is a refreshing feeling considering some of the bizarre things you hear coming out of Hollywood scripts these days. 

 

There is no doubt that Gravesend is raw, disturbing, edgy, and alarming.  The film was directed by a young 22-year old filmmaker Salvatore Stabile, who has a knack for filmmaking in the style of John Cassavetes, which some may question as well and wonder where the tripod is instead. 

 

Palm Pictures has released Gravesend onto DVD presenting the film in its full-frame aspect ratio, which recreates the 16mm footage quite well.  This is a good demonstration on how good 16mm can look even when it is low budget.  The film contains a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround audio track, which is nothing spectacular, but works fine here.  There are no supplements for this film, which may have been interesting to have and perhaps Salvatore could have expounded on some of his influences and the way this project came about.  If you are a fan of Larry Clark’s other film Bully (2001) or even other off the wall gangster type of films such as The Limey (1999), than this film will surely please.

 

 

-   Nate Goss