Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: ONLY WHAT WE CARRY [Tribeca Film Festival - New York, New York]
Doing an improv movie with established actors in six days in an interesting experiment. With Jamie Adams’ film "Only What We Carry" [Spotlight Narrative], set mostly in a small hotel in Deauville over two nights, the context can reflect in an essence of mumblecore. What is interesting is how different the four main performers are with two of them being writers themselves. The lead is Simon Pegg who at the Q&A after screening said he was trying to do something completely different here than Mission Impossible which he had just come off of. Here he plays Julian, a former choreographer at the Moulin Rouge, coming back face-to-face with his best performer in Ana (Sofia Boutella). However, the intent is very one sided with one believing that she was being pushed too hard and the other one thinking she was made better by it. An article in a newspaper leads them to a small spot in Deauville and a respective party spot owned by Julian’s memoir publisher John (played with his usual manic energy by Quentin Tarantino). Rounding out the pair is Charlotte Gainsbourg as Ana’s sister. These three actors plus two more junior actors really create an influx of processes especially when the dialogue is almost completely improv.
In many ways it seems slipshod but once in a while it hits most specifically between Boutella and Pegg (which seems like an odd pairing anyway). Pegg related that he and Boutella have been friends for years (they did "Star Trek Beyond" together) and that he suggested her because of her dancing background. Boutella herself was a dancer (she did back up for Madonna) and of course she could bring a lot of perspective to the part. Tarantino is the wild card here simply because he doesn’t act as much and his energy is a very specific thing. Pairing him with Gainsbourg is interesting if uneven. She is known for risky choices and here she is a little more subdued...but that is really the whole point. The aspect is that Ana and Julian need closure and yet they are tied. Pegg says the ending of the film wasn't set until they shot. The First AD (who was also present at the screening) indicated that they had an outline but that most aspects came internally. The most powerful part of the film is actually when Pegg reads a ghost story after a particular charged night and day. It was actually a letter Sofia wrote as the character. It sets up the most dynamic part of the film. While there are certain bits that are a little more metaphorical and drawn out than others (like Pegg submerging himself in a pool with all his clothes on), the film mostly knows what it wants and seems decently cohesive for the way it was built. It is meant to be a moment in time and, in that way it tries its best. B
By Tim Wassberg
