Passenger Side (2009)

Director:

Matt Bissonnette

Writer:

Matt Bissonnette (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Two brothers spend the day driving around Los Angeles county looking for the meaning of their lives, or cheap street drugs, depending on who you happen to believe.

Plot Keywords:

Brothers | Los Angeles | Road Trip

Cast

Adam Scott	...	Michael
Joel Bissonnette	...	Tobey
Robin Tunney	...	Theresa
Gale Harold	...	Karl
Greg Dulli	...	Porn Director
Rachael Santhon	...	Anna
Kimberly Huie	...	Laurie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Penelope Allen	...	Henrietta
Adam Balsam	...	Porn P.A.
Ben Booker	...	Porn Cinematographer
Dimitri Coats	...	Goofus
Mickey Cottrell	...	Suspicious Man
James Delmer	...	Crooked Teen #2
Roberto Enrique	...	Manuel
Steve Hunt	...	Porn Boom Operator
Víctor Martínez	...	Alberto
Richard Medina	...	Man with Knife
Maja Miletich	...	Karen
Connor Murphy-Boyd	...	Crooked Teen #1
Vitta Quinn	...	Carla
Travis Walck	...	Gas Station Attendant

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Corey Marr Productions Inc.

Funny, quirky little indie with a fantastic soundtrack

I attended the World Premiere of "Passenger Side" at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by Matthew Bissonnette, "Passenger Side" stars Joel Bisssonnette and Adam Scott as two brothers reluctantly brought together on a mission to find...well, we're not quite sure. And, yes, Joel is Matthew's brother, so it would be hard to escape the autobiographical implications of Bissonnette's script.

Road movies are not that rare. What is novel, however, is one which takes place within the confines of one city. Here the location is Los Angeles.

"Passenger Side" is indie all the way -- in its look, sound, and quirky sensibilities. Nothing fancy here, just a character-driven narrative that is both poignant and witty, as one would expect from a story centered around two brothers driving around in a car for a day. The strength of a film like this lies in the impact of the sketch comedy represented by each stop along the way, and some vignettes are gut-bustingly hilarious.

What makes this film unique, though, is the way in which the filmmakers worked the music into the story. Unlike most movies where songs are added in post-production as they become available, Bissonnette actually crafted scenes around tunes that he already had in mind. It's as if the movie is a series of music videos, with the action set to the songs, not the other way around. I got chills when the pair reached the shores of the Pacific with Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" playing in the background ("you can hear the boats go by...").