Sep 7 2011
AMAD Sci-Fi Septemeber: Freaky Faron (2006)
John Ross’ Freaky Faron is not the movie that the poster or the Netflix synopsis are trying to sell you. This is a subdued and very slight indie feature that feels like a juvenile take on film noir, produced, written and acted by a young crew cutting their teeth on filmmaking. As a result, the production values and the acting—excepting headliner Courtney Halverston—are cheaper than your average SYFY original, and there are no visual effects to speak of.
It is perhaps a bit unfair to hold Faron to the same standards as the other films in this series, because it really seems like a student film in need of some helpful critique and guidance. The pieces are here, and it’s clear that the people who made Freaky Faron love good movies. I have no doubt that everyone involved learned valuable things about the process. Still, as a stand-alone feature, something that a curious Netflix viewer might stumble upon, Faron can’t cut it.
The film opens in a court room, with a set-up prologue that is undeniably awkward and provoked my remote finger more than once. Ross is trying to jam a premise worth of information into one scene, and it makes the dialogue sloppy and contrived. We learn from this set-up that 16 yr old Faron Hallowell is being released from a mental hospital and is front of a judge and a couple of doctors to discuss her wellness, or lack thereof. She’s been in the nuthouse because she shot a local weatherman (wounded, not killed) and her doctors explain for the judge—and audience—that Faron has been living a delusion where she believes she is the chosen Guardian of Earth, policing alien extradites who have landed on a planet they view as a podunk backwater cesspool. In a terribly awkward moment, Faron is brought into the courtroom and demonstrates acute skills of perception. Then, she’s released back into the public.
Once we get past the stilted opening, the picture improves markedly with a change of setting and focus. Now Faron is back in the suburbs with her mother, going to school, acting icy and aloof with her peers, and searching for evidence that would prove she wasn’t delusional during her stint as ‘Guardian’. When she’s approached by two elementary school girls who have heard she’s ‘good at finding things’ , she is drawn back into a mystery that involves the assaulted weatherman, a strange device that may or may not alter Earth’s atmosphere, and an old adversary known as ‘The Fedora’. The result is something that closely resembles a Wonderworks version of Nancy Drew by way of Outer Limits.
I like the idea of Freaky Faron as training-wheels for more challenging genres like film noir, drawing-room mystery and science fiction. As a kid’s film, it has some undeniable charm but even when expectations are adjusted to account for a slight story, it just doesn’t properly deliver. There are some lovely tracking shots and film compositions on display (a few cribbed from the classics), and Ross frames his actors in compelling and convincing ways. His lead, Courtney Halverston, is quite good at channeling sullenness and resourcefulness. I bought the idea that she’s a smart, quick-witted investigator. The problem here is one of experience and technique.
Everyone involved demonstrates their inexperience with storytelling. There’s no effective build-up of suspense and the sci-fi elements are dropped in leaden asides that diminish their presence. If you weren’t properly paying attention, you might miss the fact this involves aliens at all. The suburban setting is handled interestingly at first; it’s less a Donnie Darko miasma of befuddled yuppies, and more a mundane veneer for tantalizing secrets. But without a sense of when to cut away, Ross follows everything that Faron does from a plot perspective, and fails to layer in anything that would develop or reveal her character. If she has to go sift through trash to look for a clue, we watch her pick up the bag, drive it in the car, lay it down in a parking lot, and then sift through every piece. Now understand that the film isn’t much longer than hour, and you will get an idea for how detrimental this is. The actors aren’t skilled, but the combination of dialogue and a lack of realistic expectations further dampens their performance. My mild interest in Faron’s predicament was pushed to the breaking point, only the film’s rushed ending preventing me from losing it altogether.
What does work, and kept me from dismissing the film, is that sense of childhood naivete and wonder crashing up against an adult world of danger and responsibility. There’s a vibe here that is similar to the ones found in the early passages of Blue Velvet, although nothing Faron uncovers here rvials the depravity of that film. In fact, there’s nothing to raise the hackels of your average public television station. Come to think of it, Faron would have done well as an afterschool special series along the lines of ‘Read All About It!’ or ‘Tomes and Talismans’. There’s energy and earnestness here, just not enough craft for the chosen venue.
Certain bits of inspiration break through the limited resources and experience. As a first time effort—like a film school project—it’s a commendable product. But it isn’t ready for prime time just yet, and Ross could use a few more lessons on how to establish mystery, when to withhold information, and how best to reveal it when the time comes. There is much pleasure to be had in an old-fashioned mystery, and in old-fashioned science fiction. Much of that pleasure is run-down here by the merciless gears of plot. As Faron herself learns, growing pains are necessary for evolution, and the movie she occupies feels like a strong step forward for everyone involved. They have much to be proud of. I just wish it were more satisfying to watch.
Hopefully Ross and company will keep aiming for the stars, and one day the film will match the marketing.
I’m leaving the land of Netflix behind for a bit, to explore more eclectic shores. Next up is the off-kilter Japanese time-travel comedy, Summer Time Machine Blues.
September AMAD: Science Fiction: