Review of For Catherine

Introduction

There was once a time outside Hollyweird when indie films were automatically cool and popular, simply because they were indie films. Low budget, underground flicks mired in the counter-culture of the post-baby boomers and the thirty year `Generation X` era, their lack of financing from the large corporate entities and the studio system appealed to the cynicism and nihilism of a culture alienated to everything, particularly post-war capitalism, from generations previous, in a world which seemed to offer them nothing.

But Gen-X was, like, so last century! Nowadays you need to blog and clog every major site going to promote your little baby, and `For Catherine`, about an American guy who gets a case of the loopy love sickness after his squeeze jets off to England, is not a shoe-in for acclaim and fanfare simply because it aspires to be a no-budget, hip, irreverent and postmodernist take on the tired rom-com genre. Which is a shame for the creators, as they would, unsurprisingly, have you believe it was the second coming of `Clerks`. That it certainly isn`t, however, it does appear to be proof that anyone can make a movie, and all you need is a gaggle of mates, a few cases of beer, some rented cameras and sound gear and a few bucks to author a DVD...

... I kid, `For Catherine` is at least gunning for semi-professional.

Video

Presented in letterboxed 1.85:1 and shot on digital video, apparently for less than Pete and Kate`s weekly cocaine bill, `For Catherine` falls apart on the technical side; the DVD looks pretty sorry. Soft, at times fuzzy and completely washed out when shot indoors, it probably would have benefited from better authoring. Mind you, the same could be said for some bigger budget re-releases that pass through these doors.

Audio

Dolby Digital 2.0, and it`s workable. Naturally a little on the tinny side, the only major nag is the irritating score which sounds like it was created on an old Casio keyboard and looped ad nauseam.

Features

Knocked together in what sounds remarkably like someone`s boiler room, there`s an entertaining commentary with just enough room for the cast, crew and their enthusiasm, but which suffers from an annoying hiss which often muffles the dialogue. There`s a selection of deleted scenes, and some outtakes of the goofing off or mucking up variety which, of course, never gets old.

Conclusion

It`s hard to come up with overly positive things to say about `For Catherine`. While the tenacity and energy of the participants involved is laudable, it is still an amateurish, student-film project type, with embarrassingly wooden acting and forced, unnatural delivery. The throwaway dialogue and delusions of Kevin Smith are a little stymying, as are the stock, stationary camera angles, boom shots and equipment and gear lying around in plain view during several shots. That said, there`s a fairly flowing script that is capable of generating a laugh or two and the characters are well envisioned, and its heart is clearly in the right place. It`s overlong, bypassing the 100-minute mark, but trimming the running time should have been the last thing to fix in a film that will mean much more to those involved that the rest of us who are simply looking for a bit of solid entertainment. Perhaps with a bigger budget and the ability to bribe a few drama school students, in the future director Ethan Hunter can find some better tools to make use of and create something with atmosphere and an aura of professionalism, which, if he pens the script himself and gets a chance to brush up on his helmsmanship experience in the meantime, could be something well worth watching.