Evento

local sightings: When Life Was Good

Saturday, Oct 3, 7pm
When Life Was Good
(Terry Miles, Vancouver, 2008, 86min.)
Atmospheric and suggestive, realistic but dreamlike in its graceful ellipses, this is a film of quiet power and sharp acuity. Writer-director Terry Miles has said that he aimed to make a film that consisted of the small but important moments that most conventional features skip over, and he's succeeded marvelously. The clinking of wine glasses, closing of doors and chirping of cell phone ringtones carry as much weight and veracity as the dialogue. Set among the thirtysomething urban bohemian crowd, When Life Was Good immerses us in the lives of Brooklyn (Kristine Cofsky), an indecisive, pensive girl who has just left her boyfriend for reasons she can't fully explain, and her friends Casey (Casey Manderson) and Faith (Keri Horton), another couple heading for the rocks. The plot turns and the arcs of these characters and their stories are subtly concealed beneath a thick texture of rambling conversation and moments of silent repose. Shooting by day, writing and editing at night, Miles used what he calls a "guided improvisational style." Working with basic ideas dictated by the previous day's shooting, he and his actors (all superb) have conjured up an instantly recognizable world of awkward, darting glances, overlapping dialogue and pregnant pauses. It's a vision that rings true in the most intimate way.