I originally saw this film at the L.A. Methodfest where it was nominated for a Best Screenplay award. I thought it was a smart and intricate mystery on a low budget. The story of a down on his luck TV producer who goes back to his hometown to produce a reality TV Show called "Town Diary" & re-opens an old mysterious drowning death of a high school cheerleader which turns into a small town Pandora's box really does hold your interest! But this time around watching it on DVD I really enjoyed the performances. This is a well cast little movie. The supporting players Terry O'Quinn as the bad guy Kiernan, Luke Reilly as the sad every man Frank Ryan and Angelica Torn (Rip's daughter)as the truly evil Liz Barker really stand out. The ending is clever and real with lead players David Andrews and Brette Taylor really bringing it home. Writer/Director Jack Kenny has a good eye and feel for his story. He knows small town Long Island life. A bigger budget would have helped. Anyway, this is a good small indy film!
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stixhere18 February 2006
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Written and directed like a middle-aged washed-up "filmmaker's" idea of a film noir detective story from the 40s. Sorry...go back to directing and producing ADA commercials. This film and you suck as an "artistic venture."
First of all...who CARES what happens in Bum**** Long Island? The lighting, the camera-work, all choppy. The direction is horrendous...the acting abysmal. This is supposed to be art? How it won the NY Filmmakers award for "best direction 2003" is beyond most directors in the indy East Coast scene. Sad that this is the best NY has to offer in indy films these days.
Pew-wee. -
chavaaron19 June 2007Here's the lowdown on the reviewers who rate this crap positively: "Richard J. Kennedy" is a personal friend of Jack Kenny's, the director. The "anonymous" reviewer from "Paris" is really Terry Kenny, Jack Kenny's brother. "Megs" is Jack's sister Margie. All in all, just a pathetic display of attempting to build up a really, really bad movie.
"Stood up and cheered," Terrence? Only because it was OVER. LOL! I'm telling you, this movie is terrible. There's a reason this idiot will never direct another movie...would you trust him with your money? Please do everything you can to avoid this stinker!!! -
megs_00320 March 2006If you liked "In the Bedroom",you will enjoy this. Intellectual and stimulating with recognizable actors. Story revolves around the idea of what is believed to be true and how reality can effect lives. This is a independent film, well written and acted. David Andrews plays the lead. Most remember for his role as the General on JAG, his character faces mid life crisis issues such as his relationship with an ex wife, child support and meeting the social expectations of his aging parents. Terry O'Quinn of Lost Fame shows his dark side as a police officer of questionable integrity. The plot thickens as scandal, rumor, corruption and a possible murder surfaces in small town Long Island. The question is what to do with the truth and how would the viewer respond. Thought Provoking.
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corkpop-118 March 2006Caught this flick at a private screening in Paris. Crowd stood up and cheered. Too bad no one from the crew or production team was there to bask. I know us French love Jerry Lewis but you can't blame us for acclaiming this film. A television producer returns to his hometown on Long Island and finds that a mysterious death by drowning could have been a murder. No Brian Jones or rockstar nonsense but a well thought out plot that kept the scenes interesting. The acting was balanced and "believable". A few of the actors went on to bigger things and by no means will they consider this effort a regret. A bigger stack of money would have given the film certain shots that were missing but over all what you have here is a well written story, that gains momentum. The dénouement (unravelling to those with less of a command of our gallic gibberish) rendered the tale credible; why ruin people's lives if you don't have to? Someone should give the Director a blank check and a blank page, I'm sure he'd put both to good use. This film is not for morons, it makes you have to think and in these times that's quite a compliment.
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richardjkennedy7 March 2006My wife is a big fan of Terry O'Quinn who plays Locke on the TV show Lost on ABC. While looking for films that Terry had done recently she found Town Diary on DVD where Terry has a supporting role as a retired police detective.
My wife and I are both indie film buffs and we thought Town Diary was a solid, interesting movie. The story has several plot turns and the cast keeps things moving. I was surprised that I have in my personal collection several movies that the lead actor, David Andrews, was in (Apollo 13, Fight Club, Terminator 3). Julianne Moore is one of my wife's favorites and the female lead Brette Taylor, is in Laws of Attraction, a Moore film that my wife owns.
One of my personal tell tale criteria in judging indie films is the sound quality and Town Diary's sound is sharp and clear from start to finish. There is no muddiness anywhere in the movie at all. The photography is fine. The outdoor night scenes are especially well lit for an indie film.
My favorite aspect of the film is the quirky supporting roles played by people like Angelica Torn, Amber Gross, Anne Grindlay, Robert Hogan and Don Leslie all of whom turn up in films and on TV pretty regularly.