Spring
Vanguard
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, directors of the exceptional indie horror film Resolution, come up with a nice blend of the sappy and scary in this off beat romance.
Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) has just lost his mother and his job so he uses some of his inheritance to take an impulsive trip to Italy. While there, a mysterious young woman named Louise (Nadia Hilker) catches his eye. They go on a few dates, he falls in love with her, and he decides to stick around for a while working on a farm. She’s a bit hesitant, and with good reason because she’s harbouring a pretty huge and eventually very noticeable secret.
Moorhead and Benson have a knack for snappy writing, and the make-up effects and gorgeous locations that come into play really show the directors capabilities of working on a larger canvas. Initially the film plays like a straight porting of the Richard Linklater Before trilogy (especially in the bittersweet third act), but there are plenty of twists concerning Louise’s condition that keep things moving along without feeling like too much of an homage.
Much like Resolution before it (although decidedly less scary), Benson and Moorhead do an exemplary job of convincing viewers they know exactly what’s going on before repeatedly pulling the rug from beneath them. These are filmmakers that you need to keep an eye on for the future.
Screens
Sunday, September 7th, 7:00pm, Scotiabank 4
Saturday, September 13th, 3:15pm, Scotiabank 3
Thanks to SPiN TORONTO for sponsoring our TIFF 2014 coverage.
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