AROUND THE BAY
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2008 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): ***

AROUND THE BAY is a slow, minimalistic drama that doesn't demand much of its viewers other than a bit of patience. Some people at my screening gave up on it early on, which is a shame. They'll never know what they missed, which is something quite good.

But, then again, AROUND THE BAY may not be everyone's cup of tea. Personally, I was a bit confused at first, since I couldn't figure out where it was going. Only when I came to the realization that it wasn't going anywhere per se was I able to like it and fully get into its rhythms.

What it is is a marvelous and intriguing character study about a family, but the family in AROUND THE BAY won't likely remind you of any other movie. The film may, on the other hand, remind you of many people in the real world that you know.

When we meet the father Wyatt, a wealthy executive, he has just lost his job and his girlfriend. But with Noah (Connor Maselli), his five-year-old son, Wyatt still has someone to whom he can delegate authority like the CEO he was and will probably be again. "I'm putting you in charge of the house," Wyatt tells Noah as he is about to leave him completely alone for a while. "You are Vice President of house." This guy has no real clue about how to be a father, certainly not about the importance of his responsibilities.

In a film told more with the expressions than the dialog, which is sometimes sparse, Steve Voldseth steals one scene after another as Wyatt, a man with an impenetrable, stoic expression. A man oblivious to the world, especially that surrounding his family, Wyatt's most telling scene comes when Noah grabs a glass full of wine at dinner. As Noah guzzles it down, Wyatt doesn't even notice, since, as usual, he is lost in his own little world in the back reaches of his mind.

In order to cope, Wyatt calls on Daisy, his twenty-one-year-old daughter whom he hasn't seen in ten years and who now lives in another state. She comes to take care of her brother, who likes nothing better than tormenting her since he craves attention badly. She copes as best she can. Not knowing her place in her dad's family now or what his plans are, she can't even get him to tell her whether he is looking for another job or taking a break. Her dad is incapable of opening up and tends to speak only in business lingo, on the rare occasions that he does talk, speaking of things like "win-win situations."

Wyatt's take on Daisy is that she is his "bohemian daughter" who is "twenty-one going on twelve." Completely clueless, he doesn't realize that she is more an all-American girl type that the hippie he envisions. He just doesn't get it. Whether that is because he doesn't try or is incapable of understanding isn't clear. One senses that this emotionally constipated man is battling a bad case of depression.

My favorite part of movie, other than the character of the father, is that of the sound design. Rather than using music to clue us into how to feel, director Alejandro Adams makes heavy use of naturalistic background sounds. In several scenes, we are serenaded by very loud crickets, and, in other scenes, we are lulled by the rumble of the train that Daisy and Noah ride on during an outing.

What a wonderful little film. It would be worth several more viewings, as you are rewarded by pondering its fascinating nuances.

AROUND THE BAY runs 1:36.

The film is being shown as part of San Jose's Cinequest Film Festival (www.Cinequest.org), which runs February 27-March 9, 2008.

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