The Diary of Preston Plummer (2012) User Reviews

Engaging Drama Set on a Truly Beautiful Island

[TroyeEvans · 2/10 · 16 May 2012]

The Diary of Preston Plummer was set on an island of great scenery and filled with the beauty of nature, gradually inserting elements of crime into what starts as a drama or romance.

Preston has just graduated high school, and meets Kate in a party. He takes her home and she asks for a favor - to drive her back home where her parents' hotel are - which he accepts. The true greatness of the countryside sets in, and at the same time we learn about Kate's family and her grandpa. Grandpa meets Preston, talks without making much sense, fills the conversation with seemingly inexplicable riddles and a plethora of unanswered questions. The story begins as develop, as both the romance and the secrets in this family are revealed. Preston becomes determined to look for the truth, and things come to a conclusion as the matters are settled.

This is an above average drama and delivers viewers a satisfying experience throughout. It is a love story, but one that has deeper layers, one that digs deeper into family secrets, which soon incorporate into the romantic relationship going on between the two young lovers. It is engaging enough to keep the audience attentive and entertained for a relatively short span of 80 minutes. But it is effective in bringing about its messages about greed and family relationships. On top of that, it is an unusual love story set in a different environment, which is refreshing with comforting music and the bless of nature.

Wait, What?

[ambrcornelio · 3/10 · 1 July 2014]

As described with the summary above, this review gave question upon question. The film starts out as quiet, scientific college graduate Preston isn't walking the stage for his university's graduation. He sits in a lab (which by coincidence, is open, and there just HAPPENS to be a full bottle of whiskey) and drinks out of a beaker along with his sorrows. His professor comes in and pours out such adoration towards this bum, and says how great he was. Super cliché, no one really cares. He ends up going to this party and meets this girl, and they go to the bathroom together, super sketchy. Ends up escaping, and then she basically cons him into driving her down to an island where her family resides along with the hotel they own.

Super sketchy, asking some random guy that just rescued you from a bathroom to drive you home, but it's indie Hollywood, we'll forget it. Preston and Kate (the terribly clingy girl) meet her parents, and shortly Preston meets this guy who turns out to be Kate's grandfather. Later at dinner that evening, Preston drops the bomb of how he met him, and the mother and Kate go crazy, leaving Preston misunderstood. Poor guy, no one told him ANYTHING, and the grandfather was a heck of a lot more understanding and kind then the crazy parents.

Long story short, there was a case claiming the grandfather raped his granddaughter, Kate, and it was entirely untrue. The mother made it up so she could get land to have their hotel on, totally ridiculous and crazy. Preston finds this out, and then Kate goes all crazy for him seeing him various times in this however long period. The grandfather commits suicide in the lobby of the hotel, and the mother claims she did what she could to "protect her daughter".

This movie was terrible, too. It had super dark points that lead no where, and the characters were too crazy and didn't add up to anything in the plot. Preston was too gentle to be around these people, and the mother was a whole other movie that could've been made and would've sucked. There was no plot, no point, and nothing made sense.

Totally Engaging

[michaelsdorey · 9/10 · 22 April 2012]

I'm still wondering how a movie that is seemingly small in scope, with a slow measured cadence could have been so exciting. Not exciting in the traditional blockbuster way, but with a tension filled plot that defies your assumptions of what will happen next, right up until the end. The acting is well done and the characters grow on you. As the movie progresses their welfare drives your interest in the plot.

See this on the large screen if you can, to fully experience the feeling of solitude throughout the movie, in the landscape, the individuals and the relationships. With" less money than most movies spend on food", Sean Ackerman has made a film with as much value as anything you might see this season.

Uninteresting, underdeveloped, predictable

[cherists9 · 2/10 · 1 March 2014]

I have to be honest here. This was a bad film. The story line had potential, but the delivery failed miserably. The movie starts out in which Preston, a recent college graduate, meets Kate. She is the typical damsel in distress at a party who can't even so much as get to the bathroom on her own without Preston's help. It gets worse. He even carries her to the car from an extremely minor wound to her upper thigh. Talk about stereotypical gender roles- boring.

The supposed "connection" they share was nowhere to be found throughout the entire film. I was never once able to lose myself in the characters or their personal exchanges of "emotion," which were unbearably awkward, unbelievable, and corny. This is supposed to be a movie about the human relationship of love but their relationship consists of a few scenes of them taking a short walk or making out on a beach- cheesy. These are not REAL dimensions of human love. Let's get to the weird unexplainable stuff; the mental and emotional exchanges nobody else can see.

Preston is supposedly a genius physicist, yet that aspect of his personality is sadly never even developed in the film. Kate's character is extremely dull and the only thing we learn about her is that her hands never stop shaking.

There were several attempts to line the story up with some deep philosophical insights about the universe regarding creation and destruction which I found to be profoundly UNdeep. Yawn. The director of this film seems to force feed the "deep meaning behind the film" to the audience which makes the film lose all potential for depth.

Last but not least, the plot was completely predictable. I was able to figure out the supposed family secret and how it would all play out within the first 20mins of the film.

Overall, this movie felt like a mystery novel written for a preteen audience.

Really enjoyable movie

[mhodonnell · 9/10 · 20 April 2012]

I was very pleased and impressed by this movie - made on a shoestring budget, it had all the elements that so many "major" movies lack: a good story line, strong filmography, unexpectedly solid acting. I would strongly recommend this. The backstory on the movie's writer, director and producer is almost as interesting -- he's currently a resident physician completing his training in child psychiatry in Burlington, Vermont. One can see why he was attracted to psychiatry, or perhaps it was his training in that discipline that allowed him to explore the nuances of relationships so well in this movie. I am hoping he continues his creative career even as he practices his profession.

A journey into a mysterious past and an equally mystifying present

[dantes15 · 10/10 · 21 April 2012]

An Excellent film! The Diary of Preston Plummer is very thoughtful and engaging movie that allows the viewer to enter into the complicated worlds of its characters. The movie drew me into that world from its opening scene and I found myself more and more curious about their lives as the movie progressed. Ultimately there is a parallel with the journey of discovery and decision that the chief characters encounter with the journey that we all take in our lives. How do we reconcile our past? Do we take the chances that the moment presents to us? Do we follow our rational or emotional side? Can time answer many questions that our intellect flounders at? These themes are raised with an elegant plot and translated with superb acting. Dr. Ackerman's (the director) cinematography is exquisite with an eye for framing scenes and long-shots that bears some comparison to Terrence Malick's works. Dr. Ackerman has a keen eye for observation and sense of feeling, and although he does a phenomenal job of capturing and conveying the subtle transition of land, ocean and sky in the outdoor shots of the marshes, shores, clouds and Sunsets of Florida (I honestly felt I was watching an episode of the BBC's Planet Earth), what is more exquisite is that these scenes speak a narrative of beauty that gives voice and credence to one of the character's visions of this land. In an age where an average indie movies cost millions, it is true genius to make this movie on a budget of (merely) $125,000. Bravo to Dr. Ackerman for his vision and for his artistic integrity. I look forward to his next film.

Wonderful movie shot on a $125,000 budget!

[ronmanganiello · 9/10 · 21 April 2012]

Excellent story - genuine characters; the somewhat gritty film and sound quality is totally understandable considering that the movie was created for about the price of a Tesla electric sports car. The writer, director, producer showed up after the opening in his scrubs fresh from his day job as an MD in the Burlington Vermont Hospital. Great guy - you want to take him home and make dinner for him.

We had read a very negative review of the movie that almost scared us away. There is a sincerity about the script and acting that is rare in the typical, slick Hollywood productions. See the movie, tell your friends!

Preston falls in love, Kate falls apart, and the Universe expands as it always does

[napierslogs · 9/10 · 4 May 2012]

Preston Plummer (Trevor Morgan) is graduating from university with the feeling of never really having loved anything. At a party he meets a girl who wants him to drive her home. Not just college home, but home, home – in another state. She needs to go home and he needs an adventure which he never got to experience. "The Diary of Preston Plummer" is about the long journey home — physically, emotionally and spiritually.

It's a large scope story told in a small way with some of the best writing I could ever imagine. Kate (the girl) doesn't understand the universe because of her family's troubled past and she doesn't know how to make things just work out. Preston does understand the universe, in a physics scholar kind of way. He studies entropy and although he doesn't understand what has happened in Kate's past, he wants to use his dark and dismal explanation of the expansion of the universe and actually help her. As he falls in love with her, he finds a non-genius, personal way of helping her.

The reasons this is such a great film is because it's not nearly as obtuse as my previous paragraph might make it out to be. The plot can be explained any number of ways. It's a romantic drama where both boy and girl need to overcome their troubled past to fully love themselves and each other. The film is also told as a simple mystery. As has been greatly hinted to, something is not quite right with Kate's family. Preston takes it upon himself to figure out what they think occurred and what actually occurred. That certainly is interesting in and of itself, but I was riveted from the very beginning based on the character of Preston Plummer alone.

He's a genius, but he doesn't see himself as one. He was lonely in school but doesn't realize that he was until he starts discovering what love is. His childhood wasn't perfect, but he doesn't let that define him. I connected with him as soon as his many characteristics were revealed, I fell in love with him, and I wanted to go on this "adventure" with him. I use the term "adventure" loosely since this is not how Hollywood defines it. It's a slowly engrossing, lonely journey to a simple love story.

Trevor Morgan as Preston Plummer was perfect. He's a realistic kind of character, but completely lovable, endearing and sympathetic from the start. I wasn't as sold on Kate, she was sort of this mystery person to me, but that also could have just been jealousy. The romance element was enveloping; more realistic and down-to-Earth than any romantic dramas I have seen. But it's not just a romantic drama, it's a heartfelt character study, a mysterious journey, and an explanation of the Universe's tendency to make life fall apart. "The Diary of Preston Plummer" is nearing perfection.