WHAT: The Flick
WHERE: New Hampshire Theatre Project
BLURB: dark, light, revealing
HIGH POINT: the take on the ordinary
The Flick, a drama featuring a running thread of smart humor, is a slow burning, intriguing script, which explores the relationships between three, low-pay, movie theater employees.
The setting is a thread-hangin', Massachusetts movie venue, one of the last with a 35mm film projector. The employees chat casually, albeit somewhat guardedly, as they clean the auditorium of ground-in popcorn and spilled drinks, between shows.
Avery, (Trevor Gerard Frederick) the part-time and latest hire, is schooled on the employees' culture, including a scam, by longtime employees, Rose, (Sophia Jillian Shay) the projectionist, and Sam, (Matt Recine) who is a bit older than his coworkers.
Slowly, sometimes unintentionally, the three diverse characters share bits of their private lives, coloring the unique triangle.
Whatever the age, or walk of life, all feel the pinch of unrealized ambition.
They are also mindful that the theater may not hang on much longer, which would bring an end to an era in film, and very possibly their jobs, the livelihood for two of them.
The well-crafted script is all about the slow, quiet unfolding, and so, little detail is offered here. What can be said is it is a moving tale, with an odd betwixt and between ending - no neat wrap, just an honest resolution.
Director Amy Desrosiers offers a lot of well-crafted moments and moves, and seamless transitions. But, the story's power and performance is hampered by the pacing, as well as the stage business (during opening weekend), which at times reads forced and inauthentic by design.
Recine brings a strong performance as Sam, the thirty-something white male. The actor delivers an even-tempered, truly authentic portrayal that does the affable, ordinary guy's complexities justice.
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