MILWAUKEE, MINNESOTA
Directed & Produced by: Allan Mindel.
Written by: R.D. Murphy.
Director of Photography: Bernd Heinl.
Edited by: David Rawlins.
Music by: Michael Convertino & Robert Muzingo.
Released by: Tartan.
Country of Origin: USA. 95 min. Rated: R.
With: Troy Garity, Alison Folland, Randy Quaid, Bruce Dern, Debra Monk & Josh Brolin.

In the permafrost world of a Midwest winter, director Allan Mindel's debut feature film, Milwaukee, Minnesota, focuses on a small and barely surviving town that is home to a unique celebrity, Albert - the best ice fisher in Wisconsin. Such a skill might be overlooked; however, Albert (Troy Garity) is mentally disabled. His idiot-savant-like talent causes a stir amongst the surrounding townspeople, not the least because he's won a fairly substantial sum of prize-winning money.

Albert's claim-to-fame for hearing fish swimming below thick ice is peculiar by any standard. Too bad this same gift doesn't help him hear the subversive inner thoughts of the people lurking nearby. From an overbearing protective mother, whose life is emotionally lost without him, to down-on-their-luck strangers looking for a free ride, everyone has something they want from him or for him.

Because of the strange yet predictable plot turns, quirky dialogue, and some heavy-handed acting moments that strain credibility, the film's story, relationships, and characters feel contrived. The screenplay is thick with subplots, yet there is a thinness of plot development, especially in what drives these characters to their manipulative strategies. As such, the viewer is left with villains painted black and the protagonist, white. Where and when the film tries to dig deeper and more soulfully into the tribulations of the townspeople, the obvious oddities and sterile sentimentality of the film work against it. In turn, moments that try to establish warmheartedness and genuine emotion leave the viewer feeling disconnected. With actors such as Debra Monk, Bruce Dern, and Randy Quaid, one would supposedly find more dimensions, but even their roles are not fully realized. And Troy Garity's performance doesn't compensate for these shortcomings. In other words, Milwaukee, Minnesota left me out in the cold. Max Rennix, actor & writer based in New York
May 26, 2005