Shannon Harper in WELCOME TO PINE HILL (Lily Henderson/Oscilloscope Laboratories)

The opening scene of Welcome to Pine Hill is based on an actual conversation that took place between Shannon Harper and filmmaker Keith Miller (both playing themselves in the film) when the two men ran into each other on a Brooklyn street at night. Keith is walking a pit bull, which turns out to be Shannon’s missing dog that Keith has named William and Shannon calls Prince. The conversation that follows, the complexity surrounding the men’s differences in race and class, and their mutual affection for the dog, intrigued Miller so much that he decided to make a movie about the experience and Shannon’s life. What follows is part documentary and part fiction.

Perhaps the most shocking conversation is the one Shannon has with his doctor in which he is diagnosed with stomach cancer. This news propels the rest of the film. Shannon visits his mom and his old friends, not telling them of the diagnosis but assumingly saying a kind of goodbye.

Much like the opening scene, most of this modestly made film depicts Shannon’s interactions with the people around him. He works as an insurance claims adjuster, talking all day to people who have been in car accidents, and at night, he’s a nightclub bouncer, which he mentions in what turns out to be a heated exchange with a young white man he meets in a local bar. Though quick to stand up for himself, Shannon remains quiet throughout most of these conversations. In fact, he’s most talkative when speaking with a cab driver from Ecuador, who barely understands Shannon. This is key to depicting Shannon’s unwillingness to share too much, but also comments on him being more comfortable opening up to someone who may also feel out of place or like an outsider.

His scene with his mother (Mary Meyers) is the most illuminating as she goes on about his drug dealing past. She hopes, though wary, that he has finally changed for good. Afterwards, Shannon takes a trip to upstate New York to a place called Pine Hill. Away from the confinement of the city, Shannon seems most at home in the solitary wilderness.

Miller’s fondness for Shannon is made immensely clear by this portrayal of a reformed man coming to terms with his impending death. This is seen in the way the camera passes by most characters but stays mostly focused on Shannon, letting the fictionalized version of Shannon develop into a captivating protagonist. While not an actor before meeting Miller, Harper carries the film quite well. It may not seem difficult for someone to act as himself, but Harper’s on-screen presence is undeniably affective. In the end, the indistinct lines between reality and fiction aren’t that important, as Welcome to Pine Hill is a moving portrayal, no matter what the real-life circumstances. Short and quiet, the film is a compact character study dealing with big issues.