CAMERA
(director: Jay Silverman; screenwriters: Jamie Murphy, Joseph Gamache; cinematographer: Andrew Jeric; editor: John Alan Thompson; music: Dave Holden; cast: Bob Bledsoe (Jim),Beau Bridges (Eric Conway), Ezekial Bridges (Conor), Bruce Davison (Frank Flynn), Miguel Gabriel (Oscar Kennedy), Ayinde Howell (Tony), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Evelyn Kennedy), Jorge-Luis Pallo (Manny), Scotty Tovar (Victor Kennedy), Connie Jackson (Rene Lewis), Kitty Swink (Sister Mary), Ross Partridge (Dermot Flynn); Runtime: 112; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Ian Christian Blanche, Bethany Cerrona, Beau Bridges; VMI releasing; 2024)
“Too much sentimentality can kill a film.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The overlong, tearjerker, micro-budgeted, indie drama is directed as a labor of love by Jay Silverman (“Saving Paradise”/”Off The Menu”) and is blandly written by the Irish scripter Jamie Murphy and Joseph Gamache. It was shot at the Morro Bay Harbor, in California.
The human interest drama revolves around the mute 9-year-old Oscar (Miguel Gabriel) who is bullied by his peers until a friendship emerges with an eccentric old-timer camera repairman, who owns a camera store. He is played by Beau Bridges as Eric, who lost his son and pours his heart out to mentor Oscar. By teaching him photography on the same camera of the kid’s father, the youngster gains self-respect and a chance to make something out of himself.
After the death of his father, Oscar and his cocktail waitress mom, Evelyn (Jessica Parker Kennedy), moved to the struggling small fishing village of Jasper’s Cove.
This is a decent film about how both the kid and the old man are recovering from a tragic past and finding a path to move on in life. It should appeal to those looking for a safe film that shows how important it is to mentor a child.
However, too much sentimentality can kill a film.
It played at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 8/1/2024 GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com