Classic uncertainties and who to trust form the backbone of the new indie offering PRECARIOUS.
A young man, Henry (Andrey Pfening) wakes up bedridden and handcuffed, guarded by watchful police with arrow wounds and the arrows shedding blood in a bedside container. Seems he was the wrong man in the wrong place etc and there is much to consider for detectives and investigators alike.
However, there are people willing to help him, among them Rachel (Meriel Melendrez Mees) who is in residence – and with the help of some outsiders via a walkie-talkie buried in a teddy bear, Rachel does thus. Outside, Henry gets helped further by reporter Clark (Dashiell Hillman) and mobile library driver-cum-owner Ruby (Juliana Frick), but the mystery is about to deepen for Henry, with some rather surprising revelations about how and where he got to up to now….
Interesting and intimate micro-budget 1960s period noir from writer/director Wes Terray which starts out with the look and feel of films like ROAD TO PERDITION and THE GREEN MILE, but transcends into a more open-minded supernatural-themed adventure as we discover the true reality of Henry’s predicament. Impressive production design and some solid cinematography also add to the charm of a film that has a much broader canvas beyond the budgetary limitations a la ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (!976)
Terray uses the mix of genre very well and is very reminiscent also of some of the Coen Brothers’ warm-but-cool filmography like THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and MILLER’S CROSSING in tone, building to an atmospheric climax and a character who is well in over his head. Prospects for the film are promising too above and beyond the indie festival circuit.
The Los Angeles International Film Festival runs online from 16th – 21st November 2021. For tickets, further film news and info, please go to:
www.laiff.org
