FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
A SLIPPING DOWN LIFE
Drumstrings (Pearce) is a rock guitarist whose ambitions of promising stardom are easily
thwarted by his frustrations with audience members who don't connect to him and distracted by the girls
who do. Upon hearing his voice over the radio, an introverted and ungainly young woman’s
listlessness turns into rapture, and captivated, Evie (Taylor) accompanies her friends to the local
roadhouse to hear her newfound idol. She soon devotes herself like a disciple, converting the bar patrons to his predestined calling of
fame and fortune. Her efforts start to pay off, but Evie and Drumstrings's hunger for more success meets up with
the hard-knock realities of disloyal fans, lost opportunities, and the tensions within their relationship.
With a cast of fine actors, one would think all would be well. However, director/writer Kalem’s decision to use
older actors in the main roles ultimately subverts the sensibility and strength of the novel, where
Evie and Drumstrings are teenage loners struggling to find direction, self-worth, and a way out of
their small town. In the film, they and their closest circle of friends are in their mid-20s to
early-30s. In making these characters older, one gets the sense they're already more world-weary,
and as a result, their awakening to eventual disillusionment is less poignant.
Clearly Tyler specifically chose to make her protagonists adolescents. In her book, their awkward
confrontations and self-delusions bring a bittersweet naiveté to their growing pains. Evie and
Drumstrings’ lack of social graces is less incongruous. Their impetuousness has an undercurrent
of immaturity trying to come of age, as opposed to being simply eccentric and selfish. Taylor
(Household Saints) shows, again, her facility with characters in the throes of fanatical
fantasy, but in addition to the age problem, she is also too physically attractive for the ugly duckling Tyler had in mind. Pearce brings a cool rock-poet sexuality to Drumstrings, the
apple of Evie's eye, yet the chemistry between them is not especially dynamic. Max Rennix, actor/writer based in New York
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