Directing one’s first feature film must be challenging enough. However, apparently that wasn’t enough of a challenge for Seth Fisher — not only has he directed his first feature film, Blumenthal, but he wrote the script and stars in the film too. While Blumenthal is a strong first effort for Fisher, the movie’s flaws seem to point at Fisher’s own character being his own worst enemy.
New York playwright Harold Blumenthal (Brian Cox) has died. Harold was both unmarried and childless, but is survived by his brother Saul (Mark Blum), Saul’s son Ethan (Fisher), and Saul’s wife Cheryl (Laila Robins), and each of these characters has his or her own storyline. Though he was estranged from his brother, Saul finds himself feeling somewhat numb about Harold’s death, including his, ahem, personal plumbing being backed up. Most of all, Saul resents that so many of his brother’s plays are based on their family life and feels that his life was plagiarized for Harold’s work. Cheryl is an actress who hasn’t worked in a few years and worries that her age is preventing her from landing roles. As for Ethan, he is a smug complainer who thinks he can do better than his current girlfriend Christina (Mei Melançon), but finds himself unable to move on after dumping her.
Though the movie’s most intriguing plot is the unresolved issues between Saul and his deceased brother, Ethan nabs the most screentime. I don’t think that was a great storytelling decision on Fisher’s part. Ethan, a pharmaceutical sales rep who thinks far more highly about himself than he ought to, is a terribly abrasive person, the type who tells everyone around him that they’re doing everything wrong with zero tact. Your enjoyment of Blumenthal will depend on exactly how much of Ethan you can take. Thankfully the character realizes how much of a grouch he is, so Fisher doesn’t try to convince the audience that Ethan is someone we should be rooting for. However, Fisher has given his character the majority of the movie’s witty banter, and a chunk of it falls into “too witty” territory, like when playwrights try to show off their skills with their characters’ repartee (curiously, there is a scene from one of Harold’s plays shown in the film that is written exactly like this). Since none of the other characters are as consistently clever, Ethan’s dialogue sometimes sounds like it’s from a totally different movie.
Yet there are many bright spots outside of the Ethan bubble. Fred Melamed has a brief, but funny, role as Jimmy Basmati, Harold’s agent. He’s a bit “off,” yet he has much insight into the lives of Saul and his family. Another clever bit involves Cheryl and her relationship with her touchy-feely dog walker, Lee (Kevin Isola). These were storylines that I was more interested in than Ethan’s cranky dismissals of everything that didn’t fit his limited sensibilities. As a result, the overall balance of Blumenthal is off. I wouldn’t go as far to say that Ethan’s story doesn’t belong in the film, but besides some key symbolism (mostly involving footwear) his story is the least essential, particularly since it also falls prey to several rom-com cliches (when will men learn to stop running dramatically across the city to apologize to their girlfriends when a taxi or subway would be a far better option?)
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I won’t hope to see Fisher on screen or behind the camera again. Blumenthal is a really good shot for a film done by a first-time director wearing three hats. I imagine much of the film was a learning process, and this movie definitely demonstrates a lot of clever ideas. I look forward to seeing how he’ll apply those lessons and ideas to his next feature.
RATING: Though the narrative focuses on the wrong character, Seth Fisher’s first film shows a lot of promise (6/10).
Blumenthal will screen on Sunday, March 3 at 2:30 PM at Loews Village VII (66 3rd Avenue, New York, NY) in competition for the First Time Fest 2013.
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