Complacent (2012)

Two close sisters, Myah and Beth, struggle with their differences in life and in the older sister's mentally abusive marriage, until the complacent lives of Beth and their married friends ... See full summary »

Director:

Steven R. Monroe

Writer:

Steven R. Monroe

Stars:

Cerina Vincent, Kerri Green, Joey Kern

Cast

Credited cast:
Cerina Vincent	...	Myah Sanderson
Kerri Green	...	Beth Wilkensen
Joey Kern	...	Robert Wilkensen
Keir O'Donnell	...	Thomas Pulchek
Elisa Donovan	...	Jennifer Pulchek
Michael Worth	...	Eugene York
Christopher Showerman	...	Jason Haney
Melanie Monroe	...	Morgan Haney
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Judy Sanderson
Jan Munroe	...	Dick Sanderson
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dean Alioto	...	Mr. Capilano
Tate Berney	...	Zack Wilkensen
Carson Durham	...	Cyndi Pulchek
Leif Gantvoort	...	Dean
McLean McGown	...	Jane

Storyline

Two close sisters, Myah and Beth, struggle with their differences in life and in the older sister's mentally abusive marriage, until the complacent lives of Beth and their married friends are shaken to the core by a tragedy that they are all forced to face. Complacent is a portrait of the middle American lifestyle. The 9 to 5 at a desk job, cookie-cutter homes with manicured lawns, golf three times a week, Florida vacation each year with the family. Only problem.... No one loves the other.... No one strives for more.... No one sees outside his or her own front yard.... They just coast... Question is, can you really go through life like this without deteriorating from the inside? Myah decides that you can't, you have to do more, want more, care more and it sets off a chain of events within the group of friends that is at times amusing and at times heartbreaking, but eventually fatal in both reality and metaphor.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | 

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Taglines:

It's A Very Comfortable Place To Live...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dustbowl Pictures, Indiesyndicate Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kerri Green's first acting role in over a decade.

User Reviews

Micro Budget Indie Drama, with decent story but bad casting of female lead...

COMPLACENT directed by Munroe who has been at it for several years appears to be a micro-budget quickly and hastily shot film. The film portrays dysfunctional suburban American life and has multiple characters and multiple relationships. It is kinda like an amateur student film version of MAGNOLIA.

The core relationship is between two sisters Myah (Cerina Vincent) and Beth (Kerri Green) who look nothing like sisters at all. In addition Vincent appears badly cast in this film -- she sports what appear to be large fake breasts, a spray tan, and a hard muscular body and she is supposed to be the moral center of the film, a strong woman all about love, emotion, being real, and standing up against dysfunctional relationships. She would be better cast as a scantily clad screaming girl in a horror flick (which she has done) or the call girl or Bally's personal trainer with fake breasts and a tanning package. Kerri Green as her sister "BETH" gives a stronger performance and is better cast.

The photography and sound is poor in the film -- looks like cheap video and rushed sound editing but these are typical of indie projects. The camera angles too are very jarring and do not cut well together during the dining table scenes (which are used as chapters in the film). And the sets look cheap -- but maybe that was the point being that the film is about middle class suburban America.

There are some positives: Keir O' Donnel, who also acts in the film and gives a strong performance. And the story works overall and has some nice reveals and ties in together well in the end.