Physical Pinball (1998) User Reviews

Accomplished student short

[Mitch-4 · 8/10 · 7 November 2004]

This accomplished short, done as a student project, appears on the Criterion Collection DVD of director Green's first feature, "George Washington".

It's remarkable that this young Southern white boy can make a film with an even younger Southern black girl at its center, and not have it be about race issues, or gender issues either. Probably Green would say it's more about the semi-rural community life.

I didn't understand why the widower father thought he could help his daughter pick out menstrual supplies. Wouldn't his first reaction be to have her talk to the school nurse, or an aunt, or in fact the cousin who does soon enough show up by chance?

Clarifying the year

[sgonzo · 7 May 2008]

This was a senior year film at the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Film-making, so the actual year of production was 1998.

2001 was the year it was released as an additional feature on DVD.

Eddie Rouse has appeared in many other David Gordon Green films, such as George Washington, Undertow, All the Real Girls, and Pineapple Express.

This film was shot in 16mm, and a mag had a light leak, so if you look very closely you can see a few streaks caused by the bad mag.

The tag line for the poster: "Just when you've got the rhythm to life, Mother Nature changes the beat."

Craig Zobel was production designer, George Smith was DP, Kenya Tillery composed the music.