Jealous rivalries over a woman amongst other things are part of the veneer that threatens to tear a bromance apart in the new rural noir drama UP ON THE GLASS.
The title refers to when lightning strikes sand dunes – and on occasion, the sand will be transformed into glass and can bring good luck to the finder, a fact that Andy (Hunter Cross) reveals to his friend Jack (Chase Fein) as they catch up with a mutual friend, Moze (Steve Holm) at Andy’s waterfront property. However, there is tension between them over Andy’s wife Liz (Chelsea Kurtz) , who is struggling with Andy and still has some feelings for Jack.
Andy, a ruthless investment banker who has secured the place he lives in through his financial endeavours, clearly seems determined to wind Jack up over the fact he is married to Liz, as well as his lack of ambition as a construction worker, wondering why he doesn’t have his own business in place.
An encounter with two local girls who work in a convenience store, Becca and Kate (Jessica Lynn Parsons, Nikki Brown), up the macho stakes, but it is clear that deep down in both Andy and Jack, something is about to snap….
Echoing the likes of BLOOD SIMPLE and THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY partly in tone, UP ON THE GLASS is a more understated but still occasionally tense drama that focuses as much on the effects of consequence as well as the violence inherent in this story, something which a lot of contemporary noirs in the genre seem to not dwell on as much.
Directed by Kevin Del Pincipe from a script he co-wrote with cast member Brown, UP ON THE GLASS does attempt to take a familiar tale in a different emotional and visual direction and thanks to some good performances all around proves to be a reasonable entry, though admittedly it does take a little more time getting to where it needs to go, establishing the relationship dynamics in a more gradual way.
A reasonable entry on balance with a fair bit to offer the potential audience.
