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CALLERS
Jeff Jackson finally comes out of the closet on this feature film he's been hammering away at for the past 3 years. The film enjoyed a prime 8:30pm slot at the Santa Fe Film Festival for it's world premiere screening on Friday, October 21, 2011.
With Callers, Jeff takes another dive into the deep end of dysfunction [see also Postal Worker]. Over the course of the film's diabolical reveal, Jackson characteristically harasses his audience with an audacious mesh of death, sexual contraban, pseudo spirituality, glib cynicism, psychobabble and generous jabs at the paranormal. No taboo is safe in this new dark romantic-ish comedy!
She's dead
but still committed to the relationship.
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All Rights Available
Oct 20, 2011 - Santa Fe Film Festival - by Dusty McGowan
The dramatic question which motivates Callers is this: How does a slovenly, down on his luck guy deal with the sudden and unexpected death of his girlfriend? There are several different avenues that a filmmaker can go down to give an audience the answer. The key element to consider is that Callers is a comedy, and the jokes need to be delivered with the pain.
That leads us to the introduction of a "ghostly" cell phone. After Amanda's (Melissa Ordway) untimely death, Will (Nelson Franklin) begins receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Amanda is only the beginning, as Will eventually gets calls from a menagerie of lost souls. The plot complications that this particular problem leads to will not be revealed in this review.
What can I safely tell you without ruining the movie?
Beneath the slapdash comic surface of Callers, there are serious issues being raised. The central one is how we handle grief. Will's journey through the seven stages is brought into sharp focus by the appearance of his father Hamilton (David Clennon.) The emotional blockage that Will experiences has clearly been learned by watching his Dad's example.
What else is it about? The nature of family; Will's history with his parents becomes a major part of the film's second act. That shift is risky movie for a romantic relationship based comedy, but it's nicely executed.
My chief admiration for Callers has to do with the talents of the movie's lead. Nelson Franklin (Will) carries the entire film by convincingly playing an average guy. That's a much a harder task than it sounds like. There is nothing showy about his performance, just engaging and honest.
"Callers" is worth going to see for a few laughs. The pleasant surprise is that the laughter is not empty, and your time isn't wasted.
CALLERS will screen at the Santa Fe Film Festival 2011 Friday, October 21, at 8:30P at the CCA.
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Melissa Ordway who plays the female lead 'Amanda' in Callers is in this holiday's
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. Check out Ordway toward the end of the trailer opposite Neil Patrick Harris.
Click to watch the official Callers movie trailer!
Nobody believes William Pierce. Not the cops, not the shrinks, not even his own mother. And why should they? You see, Will has a direct hotline to the afterworld: his dead fiancée's cell phone. Here's the problem: the dead only talk to him.
In this dark romantic comedy, Will straddles this world and the next, jumping through hurdles to appease those who have crossed over, in an attempt to exonerate himself from a murder charge, prove his sanity, and find closure with his fiancée. Yes, she's dead, but she'll go to any lengths to make their relationship work, including asking Will to do the unthinkable: join her on the other side.
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