I happened to see this at the St. Louis International Film Festival where director Rob Nilson was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award before the "Imbued" was shown. I can only assume that the award committee did not take "Imbued" into account when they decided to give this icon of independent cinema the award.
Simply stated, "Imbued" is about a bookie and a call girl who spend the night together exploring each other's psyches. This is all right in and of itself but the manner in which they become acquainted is very forced, unrealistic, and awkward. The call girl, Lydia (Liz Sklar), asks to use his phone and then for no real reason, spends the night with him. There appears to be no clear motivation on her part. The bookie, Donatello (Stacey Keach), inexplicably allows her into his place and without question lets her pick his brain. This is essentially the "film's" 83 minute plot, except for two random, ill-placed scenes with Donatello's young wife and junkie daughter.
Director Nilson, a pioneer of the "Direct Action" approach, used this method in conjunction with his (albeit terrible and clunky) screenplay. Much the dialogue, whether written or improvised, is clunky and forced, and the delivery by all actors is terrible. There is no spark of chemistry between Keach and Sklar and their individual performances are emotionless and monotonous. The score, composed by actor Keach, provides the ambiance of a porn set and the cinematography appears to from a circa 1990s video camera.
I simply have nothing good to say about this "film." Don't see it if it ever gets distribution (don't count on it) and don't even consider renting if you ever find it. Avoid like the plague!
Simply stated, "Imbued" is about a bookie and a call girl who spend the night together exploring each other's psyches. This is all right in and of itself but the manner in which they become acquainted is very forced, unrealistic, and awkward. The call girl, Lydia (Liz Sklar), asks to use his phone and then for no real reason, spends the night with him. There appears to be no clear motivation on her part. The bookie, Donatello (Stacey Keach), inexplicably allows her into his place and without question lets her pick his brain. This is essentially the "film's" 83 minute plot, except for two random, ill-placed scenes with Donatello's young wife and junkie daughter.
Director Nilson, a pioneer of the "Direct Action" approach, used this method in conjunction with his (albeit terrible and clunky) screenplay. Much the dialogue, whether written or improvised, is clunky and forced, and the delivery by all actors is terrible. There is no spark of chemistry between Keach and Sklar and their individual performances are emotionless and monotonous. The score, composed by actor Keach, provides the ambiance of a porn set and the cinematography appears to from a circa 1990s video camera.
I simply have nothing good to say about this "film." Don't see it if it ever gets distribution (don't count on it) and don't even consider renting if you ever find it. Avoid like the plague!
