Drawing with Chalk (2009) User Reviews

The gold standard for feature-length festival submissions

[wingieman · 9/10 · 19 January 2010]

I'm a screener for the Hoboken International Film Festival and just got finished with this submission. When I say this film is the gold standard I'm not necessarily talking about festivals like Cannes or Sundance; HIFF is a secondary festival, but that shouldn't take away from the quality of this film. It's wonderfully acted and beautifully shot, but what stands out is the music/score. The filmmaker's band, Six Mile Hill, provides the perfect complement for a true indie. The viewer gets an immediate sense of the film's passion when listening to the songs selected for the soundtrack. The story of struggling musicians trying to realize their dream is an apt analogy for the struggle the filmmakers experienced in trying to make it in the entertainment industry.

In that same vein, another of my favorite aspects is the decision to opt for realism when going the Hollywood route must have been so tempting. Without providing any spoilers, the end is both surprising and refreshing at the same time. It's what contributes to the lasting impression one gets after finishing it. Very well done on that front.

In short, I highly recommend Drawing With Chalk, as I did to the festival I screen for. The last thing I'd like to add is that I know it's easy for people to read a glowing review like this, especially on IMDb, and dismiss it as idiocy, trolling, insider shenanigans or what have you, but prior to 90 minutes ago I had never heard of this film, its makers, or Six Mile Hill. Feel free to look up my history of comments and posts on this site and it should become obvious that the fact I was moved to write this review really says something. To the filmmakers: congratulations. Thank you for breaking the mold and helping to prove that the truly independent film is alive and well.

Great Movie!

[pezmonkey-1 · 9/10 · 2 October 2009]

I got a chance to see this great, little movie at the Idaho International Film Festival. What a treat.

DRAWING WITH CHALK is a sweet, thoughtful, exceptionally well produced, Do-It-Yourself movie with none of the problems of most DIY movies. It is beautifully shot. The performances are all top notch with none of those pesky "Actor!" moments to pull you out of the movie. The sound mix is crisp. And it is nice for a movie about musicians to have good music in it.

You owe it to yourself to seek out this movie, fall in love with it and dedicate yourself to see the next piece of exceptional work by Todd Giglio and Christopher Springer.

Intimate, Lively, Indie and Refined...all at the same time

[warriorofwords · 9/10 · 20 March 2010]

Drawing with Chalk is a fairly rare thing. A micro budget, American, musical indie that is neither pretentious nor cold, crude nor glossy, predictable nor melodramatic. I saw this at the Canadian International Film Festival and was surprised to learn that it was made for well under 100k. It's truly a film from the heart that doesn't try to be anything it isn't. While not an entirely original concept, its strong bond with the peoples and places it portrays gives it an edge of realism and a grounded confidence in the field. Frankly, I found this far more likable than Once (comparable in a lot of ways) and it reminded me in many ways of Hank William's First Nation (a very good thing in my books) . My only regret is not catching the filmmakers' autographs, because whether or not they ever become famous, I'm confident this film will have a proud fan following for years to come.

A cinematic rarity

[apollocreem989 · 10/10 · 29 January 2011]

Todd Giglio's "Drawing With Chalk" is something of a hand crafted, low budget, soaring, and deeply moving masterpiece. It brings us a familiar concept for a film, and converts it into an original, great looking, and unbelievably well acted experience. The characters are remarkably vivid, developed through out the film with warmth and ...honesty, played beautifully by the entire cast.

The film is a true depiction of the aspects, good or bad, of life, the ways that you can choose to live, and the people that you share it with. For different people, the out come will give spring different emotions, but I am quite sure that for the majority of viewers, that the out come of this picture will satisfy and move them unlike most other movies have before. It's a treasure.

Todd Giglio (the writer/director/star/score composer) should be looked up to any aspiring film maker as an inspirational figure. His screenplay here is genius, exploring the story of a man, with a love for music, and additionally tackling other important points such as friendship and love; but also including that with other pleasant touches like humor and fun. The story itself is beautiful, sad, and wonderfully truthful, it's one of the most realistic pieces of cinema that I've seen in some time.

To sum up the basic story; Giglio plays Jason, a mid-aged and well spirited musician, who has had the dream of musical succession since childhood. His dreams though, are intercepted by his will to support his wife and young son. Jason's best friend and musical companion is Matt (terrifically played by Christopher Springer), who Jason has been friends with since teen-hood. Matt's father is the owner of a steel business, in which both Jason and Matt make their finance.

As the story moves forward, problems begin to develop involving Jason's job. And as Matt and Jason's hope for pursuing a career as professional musicians furthers; tensions grow between Jason's well-being as a family man, effecting his musical relationship and friendship with Matt, which causes his life to grow more and more complex. It's artful and, once again, beautiful.

Each scene is gloriously shot with digital cameras, resulting in Michael LaVoie's cinematography being a delight to the eye. Giglio's execution and deliverance of his wonderful story doesn't ever make you confused, but always keeps you interested and alert. I think that the story is so affective, because it shares a relevance with all of our lives, all of our hardships, and all of our passions as human beings. The screenplay is nothing short of masterful.

Giglio and Springer give knock out performances as the two leads, but pretty much everyone in the cast is flawless. Pooja Koomar as Jason's wife Jasmine is great. Brennan Giglio as Jason and jasmine's son, Brian, is convincingly talented. Jasmine's brother played by Debargo Sanyal is funny and satisfactory. And Tom Loughlin is also fantastic as Matt's father, Ray. The performances are some of the best I've seen in years, and I'm meaning that literally. They all add a memorabilia to the film, and some of these performances may even be Oscar worthy *cough cough, Todd Gigilio, cough cough*

Drawing With Chalk truly is a heart felt piece of cinema. I honestly cannot think of any negative criticism that I have to state about the film, I'll have to see it again soon, but I highly doubt that seeing it again will change my opinion that much.

I think that it easily deserves to be theatrically released in theaters nation-wide, and I even think that it deserves a shot for an Academy Award nomination for best motion picture of the year, and nominations in some other categories as well. I was highly impressed with Drawing With Chalk, and I really think that most people will be as well.

It's a wonderful film

[norahflanagan · 10/10 · 28 January 2011]

Todd Giglio is a hometown boy, so when they showed the film here in Hornell, I made plans to attend. His mother had told me that it was a good movie, but she's supposed to think that, she's his mother, right? Well, Mom didn't tell any lies, nor did she exaggerate. It's a good movie.

I'm not going to go into detail because I don't want to spoil it for others, needless to say, this is one movie that almost anyone can relate to. It's real. This isn't about the jet set, it's about real people working crappy jobs to support their family while trying to make their big break. It's about real families with real family frictions. It's about real life.

I'm an action/adventure/comedy kind of girl, so Indie films usually bore me to tears. There's no explosions, no slapstick, so the movie would be boring, right? Nope, not at all. The script is well written, the soundtrack rocks, and you don't need a PHd to understand the story.

I loved it, I hope that they can get picked up by a studio so that they can make a sequel. (the ending left me with a couple of questions.....) Drawing with Chalk will make you laugh, it will make you cry, you will root for every single character.

It's a really good movie that should be seen by all.

Sigh. An unexceptional film fest indie.

[annonymo · 2/10 · 15 March 2011]

Sorry, the filmmakers certainly were earnest and struggled to put together a shoe string- production that doesn't show its bare-bones roots too much. However, nobility of art,hard work, and films from made at used care prices don't necessary mean good films. Apparently not autobiographical, the movie does seem to be a friends and family production that might have done with a intervention from professionals or least some objective influence. This film might have been a little bit stronger if it indeed were an autobiographical story ( the filmmakers claimed it was not). Oddly enough, putting the film together must have been a testament to the filmmaker's friendship, struggle and dedication for art over pragmatism. However, the movie's themes run directly counterfactual to that premise. I respect their efforts, but I guess they may have been to close to the material. Alas, the whole package reminds me of a zillion other domestic drama movies i have seen at film fests. The same situations, same undercooked script, no really cinematic sophistication--which is not always a bad thing.

In brief, the movie is a coming-of-maturity struggle of Matt reconciling his responsibilities versus his dreams of becoming a musician. On one side is his Desi wife, his stereotypical un- accepting in-laws and his son. On the other is long-time friend and bandmate, Matt. The soundtrack is strewn with self-written music that is an amalgam of average jangle-pop and pseudo-John Lennon Beatles' tunes. It is all forced dialog and predictable situations, it is unoffensive yet forgettable, unpromising and nothing to really set it apart."A" for effort and all that, but you still wouldn't want to put down your cash for it or recommend it to others.

One very very minor nitpick that is a pet peeve of mine although open to debate. The filmmakers refer to Hornell and Steuben County as "Upstate," where "Southern Tier" would be more accurate and used by most natives from west of the Hudson. And some of us even resent the use of Upstate.