I've had the pleasure of viewing this film before it achieves what I can only hope will be a larger audience.
It's hard to find a film about younger people that no only has a good cast, but a naturally awkward one. The stars of this film are neither especially pretty, nor very self-confident. Nor could they possibly be. Jordan Gavaris plays Parry, a boy who wants nothing more than to escape from his small northern Canadian town. His friend, Luke (Justine Banszky) wants to get away as well, but for different reasons. She'd be happy just to be anywhere else. They've been each other's only friends for quite some time, but things change when another girl comes to town. Debbie (MacKenzie Porter) catches Parry's eye, perhaps partially because she's the first girl to much notice him. At least, the first overtly feminine girl. But that's the basic set-up of the film. I'll leave the rest for you to discover on your own.
Dave Schultz, the writer/director, doesn't put a lot of style into his work. That is, if style is taken to mean anything that detracts from normal realism. That's where the cinematographer falls a little short, however. I feel as if more could be done to improve the photographic appearance of the overall picture. But in a time when most films look less impressive, that's not a big complaint. The writing is stunning, and very human. The dialogue never surprises more than people themselves would.
I can't say enough good things about the acting in "45 RPM". I picked up this film on a whim from my local library, and was more than pleasantly surprised at the great performances. Although there are several well-known faces (Michael Madsen, Kim Coates, August Schellenberg), who impressed me most was Justine Banszky. Her portrayal of Luke was truly wonderful. And with the thousands of films I've seen, that means something.
Watch this, if you can find it.
