Putty Hill (2010)

Director:

Matthew Porterfield

Writers:

Jordan Mintzer (story)
Matthew Porterfield (story)
(more)

Release Date:

18 February 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young man's untimely death unites a fractured family and their community through shared memory and loss. |

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Sky Ferreira	...	Jenny
Cody Ray	...	Cody
Dustin Ray
James Siebor Jr.
Walker Teiser	...	Walker
Zoe Vance	...	Zoe

Directed by
Matthew Porterfield

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jordan Mintzer		story
Matthew Porterfield		story
Matthew Porterfield

Produced by
Eric Bannat	....	producer
Tian Cheng Dou	....	executive producer
Steve Holmgren	....	producer
Joyce Kim	....	producer
Jordan Mintzer	....	producer
Rob Schwartz	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Jeremy Saulnier

Film Editing by
Marc Vives

Art Direction by
Sophie Toporkoff

Costume Design by
Sara Jane Gerrish

Production Management
Annie Holstein	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jordan Mintzer	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Alexandra Byer	....	boom operator
Ben Goldberg	....	sound mixer
Nick Rush	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Rommel Genciana	....	assistant camera
Rommel Genciana	....	gaffer
Joshua Gleason	....	best boy
Carlos Valdes-Lora	....	key grip

Music Department
Annie Lin	....	music clearance

Other crew
Eric Bannat	....	location manager
Devon Deimler	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Josh Polon	....	special thanks
Mika Wendy Sam	....	special thanks

Distributors

• Cinema Guild, The (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• E.D. Distribution (2011) (France) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Kickstarter  funding

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Putty Hill, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Trivia:

A lot of the actors appearing in this movie live in Baltimore.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.17" (2011)

Soundtrack:

I Will Always Love You

An Incredible, Exciting Film from a New Director

Putty Hill did everything right.

I'll skip any in depth discussion of formal excellence -- real critics like Roger Ebert and Richard Brody have already said much about that -- and just say that almost every shot, every element of the film is fantastic. Porterfield has a great instinct for composition, for length of shots, for what to focus on and what to leave off the screen. He introduces a few unique elements, including a lot of lingering shots away from prevalent dialogue. The visual style alone is reason to see the film.

But it's not the most important reason. Putty Hill accomplishes something very, very exciting on the level of the heart. In a brief Q&A after the film screened, Porterfield was asked about his decision to shoot the neighborhood and people he did, rather than any of the "shine" that the city of Baltimore has. Porterfield answered that it was part of where he came from, and that he saw it as an ethical responsibility to represent the working class in a moderate, non- sensational light. Much more than something like The Wire (or, say, Winter's Bone, another contemporary film with a similar focus on devastated, poor working class America), Putty Hill does not exploit poor, mostly "white trash" (as one British writer called them) characters, does not sensationalize or wring out their dire situations in hopes of creating great drama. The film is stark and realistic, but the treatment of characters is sympathetic. This is not a film that tries to shock the viewer with a saturation of hyperrealistic details about "what life is like on the other side" of the poverty line: it's not all drugs and violence and grime. Instead, Putty Hill is a film that shows a group of people living their lives just as they know how to. Sure, some things are dark, some things are gritty, some things are sad... but on the other hand these are people, like anybody, with great capacity for love and understanding.

Putty Hill is the greatest current example I have seen of art treating the lives of the working class with both realism and respect. It's not coddling, it's not political, it's not a shock piece. The camera rolls, and what we see is Life, with all of its imperfections, problems, and beauties intact.

When this accomplishment of subject is combined with stunning formal elements, what results is one of the most exciting, important films I've seen in years.