Four Sheets to the Wind (2007)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Sterlin Harjo

Writer:

Sterlin Harjo (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After his father's untimely suicide, Cufe leaves his home in a Native American reservation in search of a more fulfilling life.

Plot Keywords:

Native American Reservation | Oklahoma | Native American | Death Of Father

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Wes Allen	...	Burly Man
Jeri Arredondo	...	Cora Smallhill
Laura Bailey	...	Francie
Nando Betancur	...	Bar Guy
Darryl Cox	...	Psychiatrist
Fank Dodson	...	Larry
John Glosser	...	Party Guy (as JohnTenkiller Glosser)
Christian Kane	...	David
Jim Kirkland	...	Manager
Blair Kroeber	...	Guy in Suit
Cody Lightning	...	Cufe Smallhill
Mark Loftis	...	Darryl
Mary Neff	...	Darla
Bill Poague	...	Rick
Tamara Podemski	...	Miri Smallhill

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Creek

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Holdenville, Oklahoma, USA

Company:

Kish Productions

turn that damn music off!

The Oklahoma-shot opener of this year's ImagineNative film festival is watchable, balanced in tone, and mostly looks damn good for HD. The humour works, the dialogue doesn't clunk, and the actors have some really solid moments of detailed interaction. And though for a while I thought this was going be one of those mute-protagonist-watches-the-wacky-world-unfold jobbers which I so despise, in fact Cody Lightning's performance eventually lets us into his head. But the problems start early: key dialogue scenes play like talk shows, cutting between closeups on the line in a mechanical and distracting way. And the movie avoids melodramatic cliché not by subverting the paradigm, but by glossing over the big crying scenes via nervous montage. Why not trade in some of the staring off into space (speaking of cliché!) for some more of the detailed interaction that works so well when they've got it going? I don't think you can blame this superficiality on the budget; I think it's a lack of confidence on the part of the director, which would also explain the wall-to-wall music that eventually comes close to suffocating the movie entirely.