Threshold moments in life can sometimes create even more threshold honesty, which is part of the conflict within the brand-new indie drama TWO WAYS TO GO WEST, directed by Ryan Brookhart.
Three friends arrive in Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Gavin (James Liddell, who also wrote the screenplay) a drug addict and former TV star and native of Detroit, reconnects with friends Marty (Paul Gennaro) and Shane (Drew Kenney). Shane is about to get hitched and at first glance, this looks like being a night of fun and re-connection before the next phase of one of the group’s life and evolution.
However, Gavin’s own in-built penchant for potential self-destruction that seems to be waiting in the wings, coupled with the uncertainty about the two friends he appeared to leave behind to pursue the big dreams and even bigger bucks, is starting to manifest itself within in the form of brutal honesty, something which his friends are well aware of and are merely trying to be hard-lined pillars of support, something that may just create other forms of honesty throughout the night….
Rooted with an influence of the classic works of the late Sam Shepard, TO WAYS TO GO WEST could also work well as an intimate stage play given the singular location. It’s a hard-line, hard-hitting drama that reminds us that there are all kinds of demons awaiting in the dark shadows, regardless of whether you are in a place of positivity or not – and it only takes one little nudge to put you right back where you went after you started.
This is the flip-side of films like THE HANGOVER or AMERICAN PIE, where the male bonding and relationships tend to be more free-flowing and free-falling, but we know that all will be good at the end and life will carry on as it did before the events that transpired for the male protagonists. This film is not about a situation designed to get people out of a pickle (although a pickle does become a source of discussion at one point in this film!)
It’s a refreshingly honest take on male emotions, something that looks beyond the traditional feelings and gets to the heart of more sensitive concerns whilst maintaining a consistency with masculinity when needed. Whilst it is perhaps a simply staged and slight work, there is something here that can prompt frank discussions between males and females who may want to reassess what their own bonds with their male partners and soul-mates mean in the long run.
