BriarDanny

I saw Ghost Town at the '07 Asheville Film Festival. For an Independent low budget film it was done very well. There was a lot of detail given to costumes and settings. Usually these are the areas they save money and use clothing from their closets. My favorite thing about this movie is they DID NOT dress the Native Americans in deer skin clothes. They kept them authentic to the era. I'm so glad the Native Americans weren't played as half naked, inhuman savages. Kudos to the powers that allowed that!

I think the writing was done well. It seemed to drift off topic and start in one direction and then abandon that either because it wasn't working or the scheduling didn't allow them to continue it. This is fairly common in indie films and part of why I like them so much. You see the struggle of getting screenplays to flow on screen. I imagine all the actors had complete biographies of their characters and this helped form how they played them. Only a few of them managed to make you curious about what happened in their lives to make them the way they were.

Renee O'Conner did really well in her role. She dressed as a man much like a Calamity Jane character. What I liked about her performance is that she played the character differently than you would expect. She wasn't a hard drinking, cussing, fighting character. Her dress and manner seemed more for survival than a gender confusion or confusion over her sexuality. So I enjoyed seeing a stereotypical western character played non typically. I would be interested in knowing how she developed this version of a typical character seen in so many westerns. She has more talent and range than I think she is given credit for. Hopefully parts like this will open more eyes to that.

Princess Lucaj (Violet Teaster) played her part extremely well. She actually managed to convey her character's history in her performance. You could almost see and feel what her life had been like secluded and protected by her gruff mountain hermit father. Sometimes when I see a movie or character I often wonder what their lives had been like after the story ended. Princess Lucaj performance as Violet Teaster makes me wonder what happened to her. How did the events in the movie alter the course of her life?

All though I do feel like Ghost Town was crammed full of western stereotypes, they all had a variation to them that kept them interesting. To be able to write a plot line that's been done dozens of times and make it interesting, that takes talented writing IMO. DJ Perry isn't among the best screenwriters (yet) but his stories are well enough that they are made into films. They get talented actors to play the parts with dignity and not just an opportunity to earn money acting. Skilled directors, producers, set designers and a host of other background people bring his writing to screen and care about the outcome because they saw something in the script worth it to them. That says he has a great deal of promise. I respect him and his talent.

All in all I think Ghost Town is a good independent film that didn't bore me to tears.

When I was a kid I'd rush home from school to watch the daily afternoon movie that came on at 4 pm. I'd been hooked on watching old movies quite some time by then!! This is one that I think about often but haven't seen since. My fuzzy brain cells can't remember but a few words of the theme song. I remember Richard's character singing it to Yvette's character. Anytime there is a beautiful morning, the melody of that song comes to mind, then what little bit I remember about the movie comes back also. I would really like to see it again and put all the bits and pieces together. I'm sure it's as good as I remember it being. It couldn't have hung into my swiss cheese memory if it wasn't a really good movie. Joy in the morning is about a guy in college and very much in love with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. My grandmother had the Joy in the Morning bible verse in a cross stitched picture framed on her wall. I never quite got the connection between the verse and the movie plot but whenever I would happen to read it, I'd remember the movie. Funny way to learn bible passages, eh??

All though this was a movie that was fairly predictable, there was enough changes to the same ole same ole to make it enjoyable. It reminded me a lot of "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore, at least it seemed like a similar plot line. Then again, why wouldn't it, it's based on the Cinderella story. I find myself humming the familiar classic tunes from the movie.

Joanna Lumley was her usual wonderful in the film, her part was a bit small for such an important character. I guess if she had more of a role in it, she would have stolen it! I really liked how the daughter (Judy Punch?) imitated Joanna Lumley's character. For a second or two I thought they might be real life mother and daughter.

The real highlight for me was Anne Hathaway's singing. She's got some real vocal talent IMO!! We bought the soundtrack from the movie, it's really good but I like the movie versions of the songs a little bit more. Nothing like having giants for back up singers, eh??