The cast shines in this dramatic comedy about a young filmmaker (Jeremy Sisto) trying to get over the death of his beautiful wife (GH'sVanessa Marcil). Sisto leaves LA (after a very funny scene where he attacks Garry Marshall with a pen) and returns to his hometown, San Francisco, where he hangs out with a bizarre bunch of friend who help him get his life back on track. Eric Palladino is hilarious as Sisto's sex-obsessed friend from high school. But masturbation and sexual fetish talk aside the film actually is more successful in its softer areas where we see Sisto's affection for his dead wife and the road he travels in order to move on with his life. The crowd that I saw this with in Seattle loved it. Highly recommended if you can get a chance to see this one.
2 Reviews
You MUST see this film if you love or even like Jeremy Sisto!!!
PeachHamBeach13 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
If I could give it more than 10 stars I would.
I will add that if you happen to hate some character(s) Sisto has played, I still think you should see this film.
The only thing I was able to ever predict about THIS SPACE BETWEEN US was that I'd absolutely love, love, love it, and I've been predicting that for 8 years. It is now on DVD, anyone who's been waiting and wondering, and it is WORTH EVERY YEAR OF WAITING.
It's not an action movie, nor is it a horror, although it is directed by Matthew Leutwyler, who later directed the indie horror success DEAD & BREAKFAST, and preceded this film with the unique dark comedy ROAD KILL.
THIS SPACE is a comedy, but not a dark one. And it's not a spoof of films or filmmakers. It's not even 100% comedy. There is honest to God drama gently mixed in, and I found myself unexpectedly in tears a few times, even after having a good laugh just moments before.
It's simply a "little indie movie" about a young Los Angeles film director whose life was moving along as planned, married to a woman who was the stuff of every man's dreams, finding his first success in film-making, winning awards...when suddenly he loses everything, his wife, his home, even his career is just void.
When Alex's state of mind leads him to do something that lands him in hot water, he abruptly decides he needs to get in his car and leave town for a while. Like many a soul who lives away from the family and friends he grew up with, he heads to his hometown of Sausalito, near San Francisco, and meets up with lots of school and neighborhood friends that he hasn't seen in a few years. He listens to the woes of his best friend Arden (Poppy Montgomery), who has recently been dumped by bigshot restaurateur/city official Sterling (Vincent Ventresca). Purely by accident, he becomes reacquainted with Zoe (the lovely French actress Clara Bellar) and her disabled dog. He is invited to stay in one of the many rooms in the mansion of his rich friend Paternelle (Alex Kingston), who "adores anything to do with the arts" and seems to be just a wee bit nutty. He spends time with the band Sasha's Ashes, lead by Jon and Lisa (David Lowery and Kate Donnellon), whose music video launched Alex's career and whose married love reminds him so much of what he had and lost that he can hardly bear to be near them. And of course, there is Jesse, (played by the always hilarious Erik Palladino), who has 2 loves/addictions: weed and porn.
The plot revolves around how Alex comes out of the trance of grief that he has lived in for 2 years, coaxed out by being near old friends, being in the here and now. Many scenes are made up of characters sitting together, having chats filled with explicit dialogues about oral sex, fetishism and other adult subject matter, and are hilarious, yet curiously innocent.
This film relies on your ability to connect with the characters and to come to care about them and what they're up to, and if you do, this film is an outstanding character study that weaves a subtle spell that becomes more and more potent as the story moves.
This film was made several years ago. The consequence of the long delay is that many will ignore it, as the craze today seems to be focused on comic book franchises and horror. For some, this movie will be dismissed as "just another indie", with no big name stars (although many of them are more well known today than they were back then) or CGI to offer.
But if you're a person who still likes comedies, or indies, or doesn't think it's dopey to cry when you're genuinely moved, I recommend THIS SPACE BETWEEN US. Definitely see it if you like Sisto or anyone in the cast, which also includes Vanessa Marcil as Alex's beloved wife, and Taylor Negron (a very funny performance). I don't think you'll be sorry!!!
I will add that if you happen to hate some character(s) Sisto has played, I still think you should see this film.
The only thing I was able to ever predict about THIS SPACE BETWEEN US was that I'd absolutely love, love, love it, and I've been predicting that for 8 years. It is now on DVD, anyone who's been waiting and wondering, and it is WORTH EVERY YEAR OF WAITING.
It's not an action movie, nor is it a horror, although it is directed by Matthew Leutwyler, who later directed the indie horror success DEAD & BREAKFAST, and preceded this film with the unique dark comedy ROAD KILL.
THIS SPACE is a comedy, but not a dark one. And it's not a spoof of films or filmmakers. It's not even 100% comedy. There is honest to God drama gently mixed in, and I found myself unexpectedly in tears a few times, even after having a good laugh just moments before.
It's simply a "little indie movie" about a young Los Angeles film director whose life was moving along as planned, married to a woman who was the stuff of every man's dreams, finding his first success in film-making, winning awards...when suddenly he loses everything, his wife, his home, even his career is just void.
When Alex's state of mind leads him to do something that lands him in hot water, he abruptly decides he needs to get in his car and leave town for a while. Like many a soul who lives away from the family and friends he grew up with, he heads to his hometown of Sausalito, near San Francisco, and meets up with lots of school and neighborhood friends that he hasn't seen in a few years. He listens to the woes of his best friend Arden (Poppy Montgomery), who has recently been dumped by bigshot restaurateur/city official Sterling (Vincent Ventresca). Purely by accident, he becomes reacquainted with Zoe (the lovely French actress Clara Bellar) and her disabled dog. He is invited to stay in one of the many rooms in the mansion of his rich friend Paternelle (Alex Kingston), who "adores anything to do with the arts" and seems to be just a wee bit nutty. He spends time with the band Sasha's Ashes, lead by Jon and Lisa (David Lowery and Kate Donnellon), whose music video launched Alex's career and whose married love reminds him so much of what he had and lost that he can hardly bear to be near them. And of course, there is Jesse, (played by the always hilarious Erik Palladino), who has 2 loves/addictions: weed and porn.
The plot revolves around how Alex comes out of the trance of grief that he has lived in for 2 years, coaxed out by being near old friends, being in the here and now. Many scenes are made up of characters sitting together, having chats filled with explicit dialogues about oral sex, fetishism and other adult subject matter, and are hilarious, yet curiously innocent.
This film relies on your ability to connect with the characters and to come to care about them and what they're up to, and if you do, this film is an outstanding character study that weaves a subtle spell that becomes more and more potent as the story moves.
This film was made several years ago. The consequence of the long delay is that many will ignore it, as the craze today seems to be focused on comic book franchises and horror. For some, this movie will be dismissed as "just another indie", with no big name stars (although many of them are more well known today than they were back then) or CGI to offer.
But if you're a person who still likes comedies, or indies, or doesn't think it's dopey to cry when you're genuinely moved, I recommend THIS SPACE BETWEEN US. Definitely see it if you like Sisto or anyone in the cast, which also includes Vanessa Marcil as Alex's beloved wife, and Taylor Negron (a very funny performance). I don't think you'll be sorry!!!
See also
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