REVIEW: ‘Equilibrium’ fares well at Logan Film Festival
Finding our balance and our groove is rarely an easy task, especially if you’re a paranoid novelist. The main character of “Equilibrium” often pretends his life resembles a film noir and that a mystery always follows a dramatic event. Now he just needs to prevent his friend from continually sneaking up on him and search for some meaning in his life, just like certain Hitchcock characters.
Showcased at the 2013 Logan Film Festival and boasting production values that make Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” films look high-budget, “Equilibrium” has a laid back, cool demeanor to it. This allows the characters to breathe and develop in an entertaining manner that even occasionally had me roaring with laughter. Some of the local talent right here in Logan populates the proceedings, and most of them put forth a commendable effort.
Though occasionally limited in execution, including some iffy cinematography, “Equilibrium” manages to consistently entertain and even intrigue with its quirky story and some fairly creative plot twists. Color me pleasantly surprised.
Felix (Richie Call) is a withdrawn, enigmatic novelist who writes in such a way that the line between fantasy and reality routinely becomes blurred for him. Struggling to come up with a good direction for his latest mystery novel, his friend Michael (Kent Hadfield) interrupts his work and frequently invades his personal space. Eventually, Michael manages to convince Felix to go on a group date with him and some friends up at a cabin, where Michael has arranged a blind date for the cautious Felix.
Meanwhile, Rose (Kathy Bateman) gently coerces the shy and skeptical Kate (Chrislynn Call) to accompany her to the cabin. Rose and Michael, along with a rather large group of other adults, plan to fix Felix and Kate up for the sake of promoting balance and stability in the pair’s lives. Incidentally, it’s a rather backhanded and subtle way for the group to show how tired they are of Kate’s and Felix’s attitudes.
As a storm rages outside, a power outage occurs and tensions rise. Everybody gets scared and Kieran (Dennis Hassan) soon shows up to the party, covered in dirt and drenched to the bone. He frantically informs everyone that some angry people who may want to kill him are possibly prowling nearby. Kieran’s trail leads to the desolate cabin, and soon enough one of the group members appears to have been bludgeoned to death. Now Felix must step in, armed with his overactive imagination, and get to the bottom of this dark mystery.
Without question, the greatest asset “Equilibrium” has is its varied and colorful cast of characters. Most of them have certain idiosyncrasies that rival those of inmates in an asylum, and this generates some good comedic moments. Someone mentions how Polly (Heather Botts) isn’t particularly lucid, and this leads her to sharply interject how her name isn’t Lucy. And middle-aged Jade and Blanch (Kevin Doyle and Kerri Hostetler) garner some chuckles as well. Jade silently threatens to pulverize Felix if he doesn’t apologize to Kate for an insensitive comment, and Blanch takes some not-so-subtle jabs at Rose’s virtue, a self-aware moment in the story implying Rose’s role as a femme fatale.
Richie Call and Chrislynn Call both deliver believable and solid turns as the reluctant lovers. Though the chemistry between them is initially awkward, this aspect, just like their relationship, naturally blossoms as the film progresses. They become a couple to genuinely root for. Can’t you tell they are married in real life?
Threatening to steal the show is Kent Hadfield as the pushy and overbearing Michael. His relaxed attitude and clear confidence in the role makes it difficult to dislike his antics. He relishes every moment he has in front of the camera and comically gets in Felix’s face at virtually every opportunity. Early on, Felix even becomes so uneasy and put off by this that he breaks the fourth wall a la Ryan O’Neal in “What’s Up, Doc?” by imploring help from the audience.
Director/Writer Erik Bateman’s steady hand keeps the intrinsically silly source material grounded just enough so the essence of the story can make a positive impression. The events onscreen sometimes play out in a very unhinged, unruly manner, which isn’t always an asset to have. Some comedies have flopped precisely because of too much zaniness. However, Bateman wisely avoids this pitfall with some surprisingly moody black and white sequences and plausible character arcs. As crazy as it often gets, the film still has an important and unpretentious moral to divulge.
Brimming with enthusiasm and some legitimately unexpected twists, “Equilibrium” is a mostly solid first effort. Aside from a bit of cramped camerawork and a couple of distracting audio issues, the results Bateman yields from his extremely limited resources undoubtedly show some promise for his future projects.
– Sam McConkie is a senior in the technical and professional writing program at USU. He is a keen writer and has been a dedicated gamer for years. Sam can be reached at sambonemcconkie@gmail.com