HELLO LONESOME
Written, Produced & Directed by Adam Reid
Released by Bodega Studios
USA. 93 min. Not Rated
With Sabrina Lloyd, James Urbaniak, Lynn Cohen, Harry Chase, Kamel Boutros & Nate Smith
 

There is meditative. Then there’s slow. Then there’s boring.

That’s not to say that Hello Lonesome is a bad film. It’s not. Moving yet unhurried, it makes its observations quietly. Writer-director-producer Adam Reid weaves three storylines in a study of one of the more peculiar aspects of the human condition: loneliness. Granted, watching lonely people is never going to be heart stopping action. Still, there comes a point where meandering turns into lost, or at the very least, inspires one to want to kick the director in the pants. We get it. This is a slice of life. Now get to the point.

The problem with Hello Lonesome (and, in a way, its best feature) is that it doesn’t seem to have a point. Bill (Harry Chase), a cranky voice-over actor, has his most substantial relationship with a delivery man, Omar (Kamel Boutros). Half-blind Eleanor (Lynn Cohen) makes tentative friends with her much younger neighbor, Gary (James Urbaniak, walking the line between creepy and awkward). And there’s Trish (Sabrina Lloyd) and Gordon (Nate Smith). Two lonely 20-something singles, they meet 21st century-style cute: on an Internet dating site. All seems to go well until fate throws them one heck of a loop.

The best relationship Reid develops is between Trish and Gordon. Their interaction is sweet without being cloying and authentic in an understated way. There are no big declarations of love for these two. Instead, there are small moments in the kitchen, late night chats on the couch. The only false note Reid hits with his young couple is at their relationship’s end. Detachment can be existential. Here it seems oddly cold in what is otherwise a warm film.

Likewise, the interaction between Bill and Omar is entertaining, but somewhat strained. When Bill jokes with Omar, deliberately prolonging contact in a clumsy effort to reach out, we feel the quiet pain in his everyday life. However, a clumsy invite to Omar to hang with him for a day, and the subsequent acceptance, is a bit forced. Beyond forced is the—uh, something—which develops between elderly Eleanor and her neighbor Gary. The viewer is never quite sure what is going on between them—perhaps they don’t even know—but neither, it seems, does Reid. The scenes are well done, with enough prickliness and inevitable friction on both sides of the age gap to be believable. That, however, seems more a by-product of good acting than sharp writing or direction.

There are worse ways to kill time than by watching Hello Lonesome. If you have a day where you can while away an hour and a half, then by all means, troop out and see it. It’s rather akin to a directionless walk at twilight. You don’t know quite where you’re going, but in the end, it’s a rather pleasant way to spend your time. Lisa Bernier
May 27, 2011