Things I Don't Understand
Everybody struggles with uncertainty from time to time. Few directors turn this feeling into a story as compelling as David Spaltro’s newest opus to the human condition, THINGS I DON’T UNDERSTAND. Spaltro (…AROUND) takes on the topic of life and death as deftly as anyone I’ve seen in recent years. While many of us know life, few of us are actually living, and death is the ultimate question. David takes these complicated philosophical queries that are as old as humanity itself and weaves a heartwarming tale that takes main character Violet Kubelick (stunning actress Molly Ryman) on a journey of self-discovery far more realistic than most movies that try to imbue the same theme with cliches.
Violet is a suffering grad student doing her thesis on what happens after we die. This puts her into contact with a kind sick girl named Sara (played by an absolutely fabulous actress, Grace Folsom). Sara’s character is dying and teaches Violet how petty her troubles are compared to what she’s going through, and how death to her isn’t something that she necessarily fears. The director weaves the two stories of Violet’s world and Sara’s world together expertly while mostly avoiding the tropes that would probably have most people defining this movie dismissively as “a chick flick”. If there is one thing that the writer/director knows how to do well is express real relationships between his characters. It’s also wonderful for this reviewer to see how much his skill has grown since his previous film …AROUND. Spaltro knows people and how the human condition is a spider web and how what happens to one person can affect other people in their lives.
Grace’s character Sara had a profound effect on me, and I suspect anyone else seeing this film. While Molly’s character Violet is certainly the focus of the film, the heart in this movie (maybe because she stole mine) is in Sara. Her general outlook of her situation, and her strong exterior in the face of her disease occasionally breaks spectacularly to reveal her inner struggle, loneliness, and need for a real connection that sees her for more than just what’s confining her.
Spaltro is able to explore the theme of death without being too preachy to any one religion or another. One criticism is the relationships of the other people in Violet’s life. While I can certainly appreciate the romantic relationship, she struggles with in potential beau Parker McNeil (Aaron Mathias), the C story around her roommates could have been completely lifted out of the film and it wouldn’t be any worse for wear. I can see the logic of leaving the roommates in, giving the audience a little break from the sometimes moroseness of Violet and Sara’s scenes, but it distracts a little from where I feel the core of the story lies.
Technically speaking, the cinematography is a big step up from the director’s previous film, which may be attributed to having a higher budget for this flick. The score is great and perfectly complements the story and moments throughout the film. I do wish the poster for this movie was a little more dynamic, but it certainly beats the “talking heads” type of posters we typically see for dramas.
As with most indie dramas it feels a little long at times, but Spaltro really takes the time to develop his characters, stories, arcs, and the reality in which his films exist in. Watching films like THINGS I DON’T UNDERSTAND from a director whose first film was also the first film I reviewed almost 4 years ago makes me remember why I love doing this and what a privilege it is to watch talented people like David (and Molly and Grace, as well as the rest of the people involved in this movie), grow and go on to become legends in indie film.
