Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: TEMPEST [Dances With Films LA - Los Angeles, California - Virtual]
The idea of the story of "The Tempest" is usually baked in the notion of power and the intent of Prospero as a manipulative ruler to a point. The new lower budget retelling by Gregory Greene and written by Gregory Williams works within the context that a lot of festival films have been working on lately which is parallel storytelling and what ifs. Here it is more defined where two different forms of Miranda switch places as if in alternate dimensions. The film establishes these spaces at the beginning very succinctly with color hues. But what anchors the film is the performance by Broadway actress Erica Picininni as Miranda who brings it beautifully divided as two different Mirandas. There is one utterly staved with loss that finds a way to connect again. The pitch she uses is so refreshing (avoiding melodramatic touches) and even until the ending salvo, it really hits the heartstrings right. And yet the other Miranda is such a different person and you understand her standoffishness and point of view.
This is helped by the script by Williams which really establishes the progression enough in its believability that one doesn’t roll their eyes. Miranda's sister in Ariel (Allison Pistorius) also works because there is a context of chicanery whereas Fred, the husband, (played by Josh Bywater) is just trying to play by the rules (though he is eventually given his moment). The role of the son Christopher (Jacob Buster) also is key and the way it is approached is again just the right pitch. "The Tempest" is not usually approached as a film about loss. Normally Miranda is simply a vessel of what Prospero hopes he can be or aspire to. But this Tempest is not about the storm externally but the storm within these characters themselves that they have to come to terms with. The script is also nimble enough and doesn’t require any large tonal shifts, just the power of Picininni’s performance with nice understated performances around her that really gives this telling a sense of heart. B+
By Tim Wassberg
