Film Analysis | Film Reviews

Rhode Island Story

1 Jun , 2003  

Written by Chris Cooke | Posted by:

A review of Christian de Rezendes’s 'Getting Out of Rhode Island,' screening at Evos Arts on July 13.

Christian de Rezendes’ "Getting Out of Rhode Island" overwhelms you right from the start, with a flash-forward opening montage that immerses you headlong into a crowded, noisy party, jumping quickly through time to give you a taste of what’s to come without gaining any comfortable understanding. Disorientation seems to be the norm. Dialogue from different characters overlap, characters interrupt each other, party chatter echoes constantly in the background. Then, just as suddenly, de Rezendes quickly backtracks to just before the party begins, moving sequentially from there. What follows, though, is only slightly clearer than the undecipherable whirlwind of activity that precedes it.

Here’s a heads-up to get you started. Local Rhode Island filmmaker Morgan Stipe (Jeremy Banks) has enlisted childhood buddy and wedding-film producer Quinley Blais (Ken Spassione) to help produce his new independent film. He hopes to bring in their friend Jake Mattison (Robert Merrifield), recently returned from a long stay in Los Angeles. Morgan and his girlfriend Mel (Rachel Langley) have planned a party to kick off the partnership, inviting prominent members of the local film industry. To call Morgan a self-centered control freak would be to speak kindly of him, but he seems to have a way of getting everyone together. All except for the emotionally drained Jake, that is, whom Morgan keeps locked in a closet. He has to let him out, of course, because the official reason for the party is to welcome Jake home. The party soon gets under way, promising plenty of conflict and surprises in store for all.

What makes "Getting Out of Rhode Island" so unusual, however, doesn’t come from the plot. The film is an exercise in full improvisation. No lines were scripted, and actors had hidden agendas and withheld knowledge from each other. To blur the lines between fact and fiction, actors were allowed to portray themselves. The film was shot with three cameras, two of which were "visible" to the actors in the film, operated by party guests. Everything was filmed in real time in just over two and a half hours, stopping the action only to reload the equipment. Aside from the brief opening sequence, the entire edited 100-minute film is presented chronologically, in the order events occurred.

If all this seems a recipe for a disaster of a film, a scarier viewing experience than a thousand of the "Blair Witch Project," rest assured: "Getting Out of Rhode Island" creates genuine tension, and the climax packs a kick. You empathize with the characters as they slowly unravel. The end result is an experimental film that will appeal to both the indie-film crowd and your typical film-trick fanatic. Not an easy accomplishment.

For more information on ‘Getting Out of Rhode Island,’ visit www.gettingoutofrhodeisland.com. The film will screen at Evos Arts in Lowell on Sunday, July 13th. Doors open 7pm, screening at 8pm.. Details on the screening will soon be available at http://evosarts.com.


For more information on 'Getting Out of Rhode Island,' visit www.gettingoutofrhodeisland.com. The film will screen at Evos Arts in Lowell on Sunday, July 13th. Doors open 7pm, screening at 8pm.. Details on the screening will soon be available at http://evosarts.com.

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