Bellflower (2011) User Reviews

A lot of promise that dwindles as it progresses.

[Rockwell_Cronenberg · 5/10 · 29 October 2011]

Bellflower is an interesting film because even in it's flaws it kind of speaks to the kind of film that it is. Unfortunately for me though, that doesn't mean crap when the flaws are so blatant and intrusive. The film starts off interestingly, a really in-your-face turn back the clock montage that takes us to the beginning of our characters, two wild twenty-something youths who spend their free time (which it seems is all they have for some untold reason) preparing for their Mad Max vision of the end of the world. In their mind it's perfectly normal to spend their time building flamethrowers and tricking out muscle cars, which is so dumb and idiotic and an absolute perfect depiction of men at this time in their life.

The first hour takes a relatively standard approach to following these guys, but despite some pretty awful amateur performances and awkwardly obvious pieces of dialogue, it had a certain charm for me. Writer/director/star Evan Glodell gives an aesthetic feeling that was off-putting at first -- the focus falls off every so often, flecks off dirt come up into the lens -- once I settled into it I really began to embrace the tone he was going for. However once the film started to really get a rhythm going it decided to awkwardly jump forward a period of time (you can tell because the main character has a beard now!) it really caves in on itself.

It was going along smoothly but then decided to move the plot forward into more serious territory and then none of it worked anymore. Those bad performances became worse as the scenes progressed further and further into laughably horrendous melodrama with some of the most obvious and artificial character progressions and dialogue stretches I've seen. The film spirals down and down until it gets to it's last two chunks where I was just hoping they would clip the wings off and stop tarnishing the promise it once showed. There's a disastrous fifteen-minute sequence that felt absolutely worthless even before we find out that it actually is worthless, followed by the final act which just nonsensically rambles on for what seems like an eternity.

Ultimately, it felt like this was a premise that would have worked great as a short feature, but in stretching it out to something full-length Glodell really destroyed everything he had going for him. Still, despite ultimately being a failure, I think Glodell shows some promise here as a filmmaker and I'll be curious to see what he does next.

Mad Max Slackers

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 19 September 2011]

Greetings again from the darkness. This film is for all you kids out there who fantasize of a post-apocalyptic world in which you rule thanks to your killer muscle cars, hand-crafted flame throwers and total lack of dependence on society. You also treat bourbon as a major food group. If this describes you, please stay away from me ... and rush out to see this Sundance Festival favorite.

In the old days of radio, college stations would play what were known as "deep cuts". These songs were treats for the biggest fans of that artist and allowed everyone else to get a taste of a song that wasn't created to be a hit single. Bellflower is the movie equivalent of a deep cut ... filmed on a (broken) shoestring budget with driving force Evan Glodell as writer, director and lead actor. Glodell has a real feel for visual statements but I so hope his outlook on life is much brighter than the film projects.

Woodrow (Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) are best friends and transplants to L.A. from Wisconsin. They come across as having ceased psychologically maturing at about age 15, though they are in their 20's now. Their whole world is tied to this poor neighborhood where they waste each day by boozing incessantly and planning their next flame thrower or souped-up muscle car. This is done with the intention of protecting them should the world turn into the deserted landscape seen in the Mad Max movies, which they admit to having seen way too many times.

As destructive plans are apt to do, theirs hits a speed bump when Woodrow meets Milly (Jessie Wiseman) during a cricket eating contest. What a great story to tell your grandkids! Anyway, Milly and Woodrow seem to be soul mates initially, but then things get complicated. Aiden is a very loyal friend and quite charming when he sets his mind to it. He stands by his friend through some staggeringly bad luck.

This isn't a movie that necessarily follows a traditional story arc. Heck, it begins by showing a scattershot montage of things to come (we assume) and none of it is particularly cheery. The ending is such that it's a web of "maybe" endings that allow us to determine just where the visions end and reality takes over.

It's no mystery why critics were so enamored with this one at Sundance. At times it plays like a student film project for a young Tarantino. Or maybe an early Kevin Smith movie, if he were ever addicted to explosions. That is meant as a compliment. Continuity is lacking on purpose and the rawness of the production comes across quite clearly and with power. Mr. Glodell will undoubtedly be given a budget larger than a credit card next time to see just what he is capable of. I for one, will be rooting for him ... just keep him away from me please!

The Medusa of movies

[schreiber-stephen · 6/10 · 21 January 2014]

Bellflower is a very good low budget film. Evan Godell wrote, directed and stars as Woodrow in this movie. The acting was a bit poor but the screenplay was excellent. This is what I would use as an example of a movie that has an excellent plot and horrible acting but completely pulls it off. Much like Medusa, the acting is hard to look at during some parts of the film but when looking at the film you see something that is incredibly beautiful that will ultimately end up harming you in some way. Bellflower is extremely dark and will get under your skin for days. From start to finish Bellflower is a visual work of art. If the acting were better, I could see this being one of the best dark films I have ever seen. Unfortunately, the acting is so bad that it is very tough to get past. This has to be one of the best low budget efforts I have ever seen and should be seen by any aspiring director. Evan Glodell's Medusa ultimately becomes the star of this film because the vehicle provides the best performance and it by far one of the most amazing works of art on wheels. Who doesn't love a car with a flame thrower for exhaust pipes?!

Bellflower or The Most Annoying Film of the Year

[dinoadino · 20 August 2011]

I have to be honest here, I am barely ever compelled to come on the web and write a review for a movie with a negative thrust. For one thing, I watch all types of films, even the so-called no budget or low budget films that other people will stay clear from. In fact, just this year, I have seen all the Sundance NEXT films, some at the Sundance premiere in January, and some, like BELLFLOWER, only recently. I feel the need to clear that first, so that I'm not accused of a negative bias for ultra small films.

I had heard the buzz of BELLFLOWER at Sundance, and I missed it, and my trip to SXSW was too brief to catch, so, I waited patiently for the theatrical. Up until then, I had read many things about the movie, plenty of positive reviews, and was pretty enthralled by the trailer. I should have been a little more cautious on the get go, seeing that even the trailer was a little fishy. You know, it was extremely light on substance, but full of those great pull quotes from the likes of Peter Travers, the king of whoring a few positive lines for maximum effect. And, of course, the reviews themselves were mostly copies of one another, with a great chunk of prose spent on context based stuff like, "the film cost 17,000", or "they made there own camera's", and even, "he wrote about his own break-up". This stuff is mostly about justification and the press angle, so, I'm not going fault the work on that.

But, lets get to the actual film itself, and how this particular film outright compelled me to come on the web and give my two cents. Basically, the film is in essence, a break up movie. The lead character Woodrow, played here by the director himself is a typical "disaffected" young man, who, along with his best friend spends his days drinking, smoking and with the country boy craftsmanship of building "cool" stuff. They are seen spending time blowing stuff up at the beginning. Soon, they go out to what I assume is a dive bar, and low and behold, a cricket eating contest (in LA mind you), when we meet our lead female, the narrative conflict of the movie. We see Woodrow and soon to be lady friend Milly engage in eating crickets in slow mo, while a "cool" music track plays in the background. This is the essence of the movie. These bits of music video montage scenes are in my mind, the only respectable albeit very thin moments of the film, especially the final moments. They come and go in-between some of the most banal, and base scenes I have seen in years.

After this, Woodrow picks up Milly for a first date, and she proposes they go and eat at the most disgusting restaurant around, and guess what, Woodrow has a suggestion, but its located in Texas. So, what happens next, shoot, they go to Texas. The film carries on in this vein. I can go on, but even writing about it gets tiresome.

Anyways, to shorten this up, the relationship heads south, but for no reason other then the fact that Milly tells Woodrow that she is going to hurt him. And then she hurts him. Yup, thats it, because things go bad in relationships, but the audience is left to just assume things happen. The problem is, we are not lead to care any bit about them. All this heartbreak stuff doesn't add up, when you don't buy any of it. The film then continues to jump ahead and behind after an accident. And then things get violent, but in a pretty safe way. The film basically alludes to everything, and always in an extremely swallow, hey look at me mom kind of way. But heck, they built a "totally sweet ride brah" . With the finale going straight into film school cope out mode. I won't say anymore, so that I don't spoil the twist.

As you can tell, I did not like this movie. It felt as cliché as could be. I did not like the characters, all of whom became increasingly annoying. I did not like the writing. I did not like the acting, which goes into B level and below many, many times. And the visual style gets pretty dang boring after awhile. Note to some reviewers; spend some time on Vimeo, or Tumblr, and yeah, you got the visual aesthetic this strives for. Basically, everybody is doing that anyway, and really, swallow depth of field and especially tilt shift is boring when used for no reason other then, "to look cool". Which apply describes the hipster culture itself. It yells to be looked at, but on closer inspection, you realize that all its desires are superficial. Thats all it knows.

And that sums up the film for me. Everything done for effect, and nothing done to strive for a deeper reading. And thats the issue, because its not even entertaining. In fact, its altogether boring, but in the American style of boring, and not in the European, sophisticated, by design way boring.

I guess maybe its utility is best served as a sort of Hollywood calling card for the troupe, and for that, maybe it succeeds. But for something that I have to pay money to watch, no. And truth be told, if this was for free, I would probably pass as well.

Guys being guys and girls being psychotic

[napierslogs · 6/10 · 18 January 2012]

"Bellflower" opens and continues with guys being guys. They have no regard to how they live, they just get drunk and build flame-throwers. They are similar, I'm assuming, to how writer, director and star Evan Glodell behaves with his male friends. If it can blow-up, Aiden and Woodrow will find a way to make it blow-up. And then Woodrow meets a girl and falls in love.

The romance element is played out quickly. Because, as I said, the film is about guys being guys. It's also about girls being psychotic. It's hard to stay in love with that explosive mix going on. Seeing as they will throw gasoline on any fire that's burning, the flames just leap up higher and engulf everyone and everything.

Not being a guy myself, I didn't connect with Aiden and Woodrow in the beginning, although I certainly have met guys like them. The girls, Milly and Courtney, are way more destructive than any girls will admit to being. The characters, the acting, and the dialogue are the weaker elements to the film, but the story that they insist they are telling is just so intriguing you won't want to turn this off.

As the poster suggests, and their past-times, "Bellflower" gets very violent. But the interesting thing is that it's not just mindless violence. The characters are just so calamitous, that they have their reasons for everything that burns, explodes, crashes or dies. It is dark and devastating, and unfortunately, a little more empty than it should have been.

Living in the Apocalypse of Love

[rooprect · 8/10 · 1 December 2014]

I almost didn't watch this movie because its IMDb plot summary (something about 2 guys building a monster car in preparation for the apocalypse) made it sound like Beavis & Butthead vs. Road Warrior. That couldn't be further from the truth.

True there are a couple explosions, flame throwers, firearms, a few pints of spilled blood, and a super souped-up Buick Skylark 1972 that would make James Bond hop on his tricycle and pedal furiously away. But essentially this is a love story. The apocalypse here is not a literal one but a personal one. Writer/director/principal actor Evan Glodell says he wrote it while in the painful haze of a bad breakup. Indeed, I would say this is one of the best post-breakup films to watch, because it perfectly captures the feeling of emotional desolation, hope & obsession associated with that mixed bag we call "love".

The story centers on 2 friends Woodrow (Evan Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) who, contrary to their pastime of blowing things up, are NOT Beavis & Butthead type morons. They're just a couple of average-to-nerdy 20-somethings who live life one day at a time on the outskirts of LA. They drink a lot of beer. They try to pick up girls at the local bar (unsuccessfully most of the time). And when all else fails, they build the car of their dreams.

Enter Milly (Jessie Wiseman) who becomes Woodrow's love interest. In a very sweet way, Woodrow & Milly develop a charming relationship. But then things get complicated. Very complicated. I'm talking flame thrower complicated. The 2nd half of the movie is a suspenseful, tense, explosive ride that comes to a powerful climax with great, passionate acting.

The story is from Woodrow's point of view, the male point of view. Female characters seem peripheral, and I figured the IMDb demographic would show "Bellflower" to be preferred by males. Surprise: it's evenly split down the middle. Perhaps it's because, even though it's from a male perspective and has a lot of "manly" things like beer, whiskey, guns and cars that slurp a gallon of gas to pull out of the driveway, it's still a very sensitive film that can be appreciated by anyone. It exposes the vulnerabilities of heartbreak, the thrill of obsession, and the nature of friendship. And these things are not gender-specific.

A word about the cinematography: wow. As the story becomes increasingly complicated, the visuals become more expressionistic and hallucinatory. This is the masterwork of Joel Hodge, director of photography. Visuals are often very striking, with heavy color saturation, hazy filters and occasional lens grit, making it a very dreamlike presentation. I read that the cameras they used were mostly home made, scrapped together from cheap parts... much like the car "Medusa" which was actually built for this film. "Bellflower" was nominated for the 2012 Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography, but lost to the blockbuster Academy Award Winning "The Artist".

Another highlight: the music. Beginning with a dark acoustic guitar & vocal piece, the film keeps the soundtrack minimal (no melodramatic symphonies here) and toward the end throws in some powerful trip-hop, industrial house stuff. I didn't recognize any of the bands on the soundtrack, but it felt similar to maybe Jeff Buckley for the acoustic/vocal pieces and Portishead or AWOL Nation for the heavy stuff. Undeniably cool stuff.

"Bellflower" is an artistic, slow moving film that keeps gaining momentum all the way to its roller-coaster finale. There aren't any popular movies I can compare it to. But if you've seen the indie flicks "Entrance" (2012) or "The Tracey Fragments" (2007), or my favorite "Buffalo 66", then you can expect a similar off-kilter approach to filmmaking that makes this a challenging and ultimately satisfying movie.

Unique and original

[TdSmth5 · 7/10 · 22 February 2015]

Two friends who live in an LA suburb spend their time building flamethrowers and tricking out cars. One of them, Woodrow, has a faucet in his car that delivers whiskey.

One night at a party he meets a girl named Milly. She's not all that attractive but has an attractive personality. She's roommates with some guy named Mike who acts like a big brother to her.

On the first date Woodrow and Milly instead of going to a nice restaurant, she convinces him to take her to the nastiest place he's been to, which turns out to be in Texas. They drive over there, he beats up a guy who fondles her, she convinces him to get a motorcycle that would look good for his imaginary post-apocalyptic gang, so he trades the car for the bike. When they return home they start a relationship, even though she tells him she will end up hurting him.

One day, Milly looks bored and not interested in him anymore, and sure enough, when he returns home early, he find her having sex with Mike. As he leaves in a rage, he's hit by a car and ends up in the hospital.

When he comes out, his friend Aiden has bought him a muscle car to upgrade but it's Aiden who spends his time tuning it for him, turning the exhausts into flame throwers. But Woodrow isn't into it. He thinks a lot about Milly. But since it's Aiden's friend Courtney who's taking care of him of sorts, he hooks up with her. Not a bad thing since she's actually much cuter than Milly.

Suddenly Mike shows up demanding Milly's stuff. So the guys end up dumping her stuff on Mike's yard and burning it. When Mike shows up with a bat he gets a beating. So he ends up kidnapping Woodrow and tattooing his face. And that will lead to the strange outcome.

Bellflower is an unusual movie for sure. It looks different but good because it's filmed mostly during the day and outdoors a lot. It also places us in a environment that is unusual for movies--some lower middle-class suburbs. Sadly not in the city of Bellflower nor Bellflower blvd. but Bellflower ave., wherever that is. The two kids and the two girls are very likable. The guys are geeks, who live a bit in a world of fantasy, but there's not a single mean bone in them. The relationships with the girls are also well-handled. There's a lot of innocence, tentativeness, lots of giggles. But unfortunately, when things are going well for out characters, there's only one direction a movie will takes us, and it's not the place we want to go, which even more unfortunately, is somewhat realist. Woodrow loves Milly, but once she has him, once the challenge is lost, she loses interest and becomes bored. At that point she doesn't care about his feelings anymore. But even until the end we get some surprises. Bellflower could have been shortened a bit, it could have been a bit more edgy, but it's a tremendous achievement for actor/writer/director Glodell who shows remarkable potential.

Boring

[sloppyjoe911 · 3/10 · 18 November 2011]

We saw a few movies at the Seattle film fest and this was the worst of what we saw. I like the premise a lot but the actual story does not live up to its potential. It was directed amateurishly and worse is the cinematography. I know others like this but I don't get it. I thought the acting was weak and over-the-top in some parts. I really wanted to like this film but after 30 minutes I was so bored I couldn't take it. My wife wanted to leave but I gave this movie every chance and stuck it out. For those who think there's some sort of nuclear blast; there is none. There is Apocalypse or anything of the sort - it's just a character study and a boring one at that.

A Captivating Look Into Pointless Lives

[rioplaydrum · 8/10 · 12 December 2015]

Welcome to Bellflower Street. Home to a host of twenty-somethings loosely defined as the Y Generation. No one seems to work. No one goes to school. No one has any definable goals at all.

Instead, our characters wander from bar to bar, party to party, and each other's beds whenever it pleases them. No one considers the consequences. No one cares. For them there is a complete disconnect to anything outside their own selfish feelings and wants. Everyone is everybody else's fair weather friend. Emotions rule and common sense is a thing unknown. There is no other world worth considering save their own.

At the center we have Woodrow (Evan Glodell) who chums around with his best pal Aiden (Tyler Dawson). Woodrow is a bit of an aw-shucks kind of guy who giggles a lot and speaks with all the unformed glob of a twelve year-old. Aiden is far more focused and harbors a fascination with the Apocalypse, spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars designing and building military-grade flame throwers as well as tricking out an old Buick Skylark with ample horse power and gadgets suitable for the likes of Mad Max as well as James Bond.

I found Aiden a complete mystery. He has what is known as invisible means of support. He has by his own admission, "A lot of time on my hands" and also evidently considerable funds to throw around on his inventions. How does he get his money? We don't get to find out.

On a redundant night out from their slummy, lower middle class digs, Woodrow and Aiden find themselves in one of their favorite dives where Woodrow meets Milly (Jessie Wiseman). Milly is girlishly too-cute-to- pass-up, reeks of sexuality, is tough and mentally high-functioning. Her character essentially amounts to the equivalence of an intelligent biker chick sans the bike. Her and Woodrow hit it off immediately and begin dating, with their very first meet-up resulting in a spontaneous road trip from California to Texas. Yes, Texas.

What a street-smart girl like Milly sees in the klutzy goofball Woodrow is hard to understand. Perhaps she needed a break from her regular type of guy. Maybe she's bored. Or maybe she's unconsciously trying to hurt someone else.

If so, her ex-boyfriend Mike (Vincent Grashaw) is that someone else.

A romantic item in the past, Mike and Milly still co-habitate as roommates, but are clearly no longer lovers and haven't been for a long, long while. A highly uncomfortable and tense situation for Mike, but no matter: Milly couldn't care less. She doesn't help the already dark atmosphere of Mike's mind by happily sharing news of her new beau Woodrow, causing Mike to visibly shrink into deeper levels of anger and depression.

He sulks and silently fumes while still paying the physically absent Milly's half of the rent, because, you know, she has far more important things to do then pay attention to silly ideas like maintaining respect for an ex-lover's feelings or fiscal responsibilities.

And nothing good will come from it.

Everybody in this story drinks. A lot. Especially Woodrow and Aiden. Copious amounts of beer and whiskey are consumed 'round the clock with perhaps a break only to take a shower or sit on a toilet. Drinking and driving is normal, and even a home-cooked breakfast is served whilst throwing back a bottle or two.

To be in your early twenties again armed with ignorant bliss and a strong liver.

Emotional immaturity mixed with the chronic boozing makes for predictable and terrible results as most of the main characters descend into their individual self-destructions, while two of them carry out vengeance against one another that is hair raising to behold. The story thoroughly held my attention throughout.

I was amazed to learn the entire film was shot on the thinnest shoe string possible, a mere $17,000. I don't exaggerate in hazarding a guess if the biggies in Hollywood would have attempted the same screen play, it would have cost at least 200 times as much with predictably dubious results.

I can only describe this film as a purposely tainted gem. Lost members of a generation held up raw for all to see.

Great backdrop, good performances but stuck in second gear

[eshwarmail · 7/10 · 8 January 2017]

Reviewed January 2012

Very simple, predictable and gets stuck in second gear. It has an effective screenplay but at times felt a bit amateurish. Features an excellent central character added with very good performances makes this rough journey not too uncomfortable.

Woodrock (Evan Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) are buddies for life who spend all their time building up stuff for their post- apocalyptic imaginary gang 'Mother Medusa' which highly inspired by the concepts of Mad Max. Woodrock is the likable young and shy guy who happens to meet Milly (Jessie Wiseman) a free spirited young woman when he goes against in a challenge to eat live crickets for a $50 coupon prize. Sparks fly between them and they run away for a dinner half way across the country, buy a mean motorbike, eats in the scariest restaurant going around getting punched in the face at the same time while leaking both ways. Then things end bad bringing out the worst among each of them.

One thing strike to the mind that is not convincing. None are shown how they earn their livelihood but keep on spending. Each character is very likable in their own way but director effectively manages to show their extreme dark side in sporadic scenes. The super cool background music that elevates the movie in the trailer is missing for most part. More emphasis is given to style and impact than practicality towards the end.

A simple story with an unconventional but effective backdrop, though extremely under-utilized stays afloat with brilliant performances from unknown faces.

To quote Modest Mouse,...

[argent-the-wolf · 1/10 · 3 February 2012]

"I just don't need none of that Mad Max bullsh*t!" I gave this film a try on account of several good reviews, but I was seriously disappointed. Far from being fresh, the camera effects were excessive, giving you the feeling a toy camera filter had been added to every frame. The characters were thoroughly unappealing, with no depth. It was hard to find the patience to sit through all the screen time that was devoted to their self-absorbed, hipster fantasies. The emotional response and life and death consequences late in the film seem extremely disproportionate to what caused them- a breakup in a relationship that was boring, shallow, and doomed from the start. The constant hipster fantasy elements attempt to mask what is essentially a very hollow movie.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant

[wytsharkmedia · 10/10 · 16 November 2011]

When David Fincher was preparing to shoot Fight Club, he briefly considered dispensing with stars and a big budget to shoot the film guerrilla style on digital video. Had he gone that route, the results would have been something along the lines of Bellflower, an audacious, flame- spewing, spit in the face of everything stale and conventional about modern cinema. Shot on a nothing budget using a camera that director/writer/star Evan Glodell built from odds and ends, Bellflower is a stark critique of characters lost and struggling in the sun soaked wastelands of Southern California. To go into detail would certainly ruin the joy of discovery this brutal movie has to offer. Suffice to say it is a love story like no other, chock full of drunken brawls, flame- throwers, and a muscle car named Medusa (also built from scratch by Glodell). Personally, I think this is one of the most important movies that's come out in recent memory. With a raw, ugly beauty reminiscent of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the sparse immediacy of films like Two Lane Blacktop, and David Lynch's ability to make the banal nightmarish and horrifying, Bellflower incinerates the very notion of narrative filmmaking, redefining it on its own terms. If indie filmmaking is meant to push the envelope, this movie leaves that envelope charred and twisting in the wind.

It made me feel.

[d-legg304 · 7/10 · 28 November 2011]

I'm not giving away anything more than can be determined by the cover of this DVD. This is a beautiful and grimy piece of art that I enjoyed very much. An enthusiastic cast can compensate a low budget in some cases, like this one. Some people feel things very intensely. Disillusionment is the strongest of emotions displayed in this movie yet the entire range of human emotion I noticed. The vision was just right for the limitations of budget and resources. A car is one of the nicest gifts you can give a friend unless you drive it straight to Hell with them. A unique kind of Hell is depicted in this story. It is one we all would like to visit, and one we would want to escape just the same. Dreamers who want something impossible are attracted to each other in intense and sometimes disastrous situations. Beautiful, chaotic, and possibly accidentally created art is a joy to experience. I feel that this flick will not gain full appreciation until many years from now, when the majority of cinema is done in a similar way. Long after big budgets and tired, over payed and cracking faces are a thing of the past. Art changes its self on shifting plateaus of time and perception, and art changes people between heart beats. I was changed an hour into this flick and I am so glad I took the chance buying this DVD. It is among my favorites, on the top shelf. Well, maybe the second shelf because of the overplayed and unrealistic fighting sequences. Other than that I can say that I felt things i didn't expect to feel. Although it is far ahead of its time, it is also very current considering styles of dress and music. Hemlines rise and fall as does music on the charts but amazing vision like this is timeless and unyielding in its greatness. Excellent.

Bell's Toll

[thesar-2 · 3/10 · 26 November 2011]

How come after watching this odd fantasy called "BELLFLOWER," I get the impression the Director/Writer/Star Evan Glodell was on the ground, back to a telephone pole while inhaling a massive amount of pot upset he hadn't come up with a title for his film and the movie had been in the can. He can barely lift his spinning head enough to see the street sign: 'BellFLower' and he exclaims: "Oh, man, that's it. Dude. It's art, bro. F'ng art."

I can't explain this trip of a movie's title other than that scenario. It starts off as a dead-weight Mumblecore film, but at least in our reality and slowly transforms into a dark haze as if the audience was just as stoned.

We have two loser BFF's who's obsession with Mad Max, his flamethrowin' dude car and the possibility of an impending apocalypse goes a tad bit far. In fact, we really don't know if either of these adult males work – we only know they're pimping their Road Warrior car named Medusa and their flamethrower and they like to hit on girls. One does hook up with one and things go sour from there. Sorta. Kinda.

Admittedly, the film's odd style, jumping all over the place and the dead-end lives you witness leave an impression, but since barely a thing happens worth repeating nor is there any point, it's not recommended.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Huge Disappointment

[kumanoir · 7 August 2011]

The premise of this movie is so evocative and brilliant, that what the director/writer actually gives you is even more of a disappointment. Don't be deceived by the publicity. This is by no means an apocalyptic melodrama, full of flame throwing hipsters wreaking havoc everywhere they go. FAR FROM IT. This is a vapid mumblecore boyfriend/girlfriend drama with some digressions that barely graze the original premise. Almost the entire movie consists of the very slow charting of how two couples find each other, couple, uncouple, recouple, etc. It's completely generic at that level.

Spoiler alert below!

Also, I totally lost respect for the director/writer when, after finally showing us something shocking and violent - most the main characters murder each other or commit suicide - all this turns out to have just been a revenge fantasy in the mind of Woodrow, and it turns out none of it actually happened. How cowardly.

The movie has great pretensions to rocking our world, but turns out to be entirely timid and conventional. All the expressionist cinematography in the world doesn't make it interesting or original. Skip it.

a good but not great debut

[bburns · 7/10 · 15 August 2011]

Evan Glodell is a busy guy. He wrote, directed, edited, produced and starred in "Bellflower". And if that weren't enough, he also was the production designer (under the pseudonym "Team Coatwolf") and invented an app to make DV shots (purposesly) yellow, grimy and only partly in focus. It's quite a debut, to be sure. Like "Mean Streets" and "Resevoir Dogs", I do believe that Glodell and his cast of unknowns will go on to greater stardom in the future. However, unlike the two aforementioned films, this is no masterpiece.

The story is about a Wisconsinite-turned-Angeleno named Woodrow (Glodell) and his buddy Aiden (Tyler Dawson) who are obsessed with apocalyptic movies and comics, especially "Mad Max". They don't appear to have jobs, and when Woodrow is asked what he does, he replies "I'm building a flame-thrower." The duo have also customized a pair of cars. One is a Volvo with a whiskey spigot in the dash, and the other is a vintage Chevelle with flaming tailpipes. (They get their equipment at a salvage store on Bellflower Ave, hence the title of the movie).

At a bar one night, he meets Milly (Jessie Wiseman), and it's love at first sight. She turns out to be even more into apocalyptic stuff than he is. So much so, she refuses to go to a nice restaurant, instead making him drive all the way to Texas to the nastiest diner he knows of. Then she makes him trade the Volvo for an "apocalypse" motorcycle ("apocalypse" in this instance being an adjective meaning so ugly it looks like a prop from "Escape From New York"). And finally, she makes him grow a truly heinous beard (an aside: I have a beard, as do my brother, father, and stepfather. And I feel on behalf of all bearded men, I must apologize for Glodell's disgusting facial hair).

Then one day, Woodrow discovers Milly's male roommate Mike (Vincent Grashaw) is also her "friend with benefits". He storms out of the house, crashes his bike and winds up in the hospital for some time.

After that, it gets hazy. It's fairly certain that he has revenge sex with Milly's best friend Courtney (Rebekah Brandes), but either he becomes a violent misogynist with peaceful fantasies about leaving LA; or he stays grounded, leaves LA with Aiden, but has blood-soaked revenge fantasies. The audience is left to choose what--if anything--actually happens after the motorcycle crash. Even the revenge sex may just have been a fantasy.

Altogether, this movie is a mixed bag. It's certainly well-acted and well-written. And I like the idea of the final act of the movie being ambiguous as to what is real and what isn't. However, I found the camera-work I mentioned in the first paragraph to be grating after the first half-hour or so. I also don't share the apocalypse-mania of the three lead characters, so I really had a hard time empathizing with them. Plus, none of the characters appear to have jobs, so I wonder how they can afford to live in these nice Hollywood bungalows. And there is never a scene in which one or more of the characters isn't drinking, smoking or doing dope. (I'm sorry, but bacon and beer is not a healthy breakfast.) Evan Glodell is a talented young actor, screenwriter and director. I am sure one day he will be a sought-after talent. "Bellflower" is a good start to his career, but that's all it is--a start. 7 out of 10.

Amazing movie, visually stunning...

[bcsarmaa · 9/10 · 1 May 2011]

Just got out of the screening of this movie at the Independent Film Fest of Boston. Bellflower is a visually stunning movie and is sure to make help make the career of the star/director and a few other members of the supporting cast.

The basic premise is that two friends decide to future-proof themselves by creating weaponry designed for ruling a potential post-apocalyptic wasteland. They figure that if Mad Max has taught us anything it is that whoever has the most badass weapons will end up on top.

Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson and Rebekah Brandes turn in impressive performances. I am sure that we will be seeing plenty of Jessie Wiseman.

The film was shot on handmade cameras that the director built which allowed him to create amazing tilt-shift visuals. All of the gadgets featured in the film were also built by the director for the movie. Filming happened over the course of 3 years on a meager budget of only $17,000, an amazing feat.

If this movie is playing at a local festival you need to go see it ASAP. I'm pretty sure that there will be plenty of buzz surrounding the film once it gets a wider release.

emotionally messy, verges on incoherent but never gets there

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 12 October 2015]

Bellflower may not be a great film, but I am certainly intrigued by the director and this warped style. The storytelling can get mucked up most of the time, and a break happens halfway through the film where a character (or should I say characters) do things that just make the film go in a total other direction with little motivation, and it doesn't really have an ending. But for a film made for 17 grand, it's audacious as hell. The acting is generally interesting and when it goes into wild territory near the end it certainly makes an impression - I sometimes get "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" in my head at random times due to how forceful this guy delivers it. I don't know if it all works, but it looks and feels like few other films released in 2011 or any other year really. It's like a buckshot from the heart and solar plexus of a guy raised on a lot of Mad Max and mumblecore movies.

I want to see what Glodell does for his second or third film, when he matures (at least somewhat) as a director/writer/actor/flamethrower-maker. It's the highest 7 out of 10 star recommended movie in a while.

Slow and drawn out

[RebeLImDb · 2/10 · 7 November 2011]

I'm not an expert on Directors and such, but I do know a bad movie from a good movie.

This movie started slow and I waited and waited for it to pick up, and it didn't. I had to (painfully) keep watching to see if their was more to this movie, and before I knew it it was over.

I am very perplexed that this film has a score of (6.3) on IMDb as to me its rating was closer to (2). I am starting to not trust the rating system here to help me find good movies.

I would rate this as movie to watch if there isn't anything else to do....

Just watch it, don't analyze it !

[augur31 · 8/10 · 12 August 2012]

So, here we are my first review. First of all, you must know I'm a really BIG watcher but I've never wrote a review for the simple reason, i never had to. But this time, it's different. Why? Because the phenomenon of this "3.0" generation really start to exasperate me. In fact I'm pretty sure all the people that destroy this movie did it on their smart-phones while "watching" it.

It's amazing how the bad reviews are incredibly long and detailed. And if i put that in parallel with some pretty popular movies for that same generation, the conclusion i come to is that you aren't capable of watching a movie in his "fullness", you just watch a succession of "scenes".

I know, i know, I'm not really talking about the movie, just go read other good reviews if you want to know why it's a f*ck*ng pretty good movie.

I wrote this review only to give you an advice if you decide to watch it: JUST DO IT, it's a real journey. Don't judge it, appreciate it, and do that until the very last moment. At the end, maybe that you will have liked it, maybe not, but at least you won't have lost 2 hours of your life, because it's unique and mesmerizing. Something you won't be able to appreciate if you analyze every seconds of it.

Indie drama shows promise...

[MrGKB · 6/10 · 21 May 2012]

...although I find it difficult to believe it was made for a mere $17K. There's just too much on screen and too many people behind for that to seem possible. Nonetheless, whatever the budget, "Bellflower" at the very least demonstrates certain glimmers of talent hidden within the flaws of a half-baked script and guerrilla-style presentation. A heartfelt "Hey, gang, let's make a movie!" approach can only go so far, and I suspect auteur Glodell would have profited mightily from letting someone else play his lead role, letting him focus on the writing/directing chores. That said, I'd also like to mention that criticisms of the acting are, I think, unfounded, and that perhaps the disdain stems from a dislike of the characters themselves, none of whom are terribly admirable. In particular, I'd say that Rebekah Brandes assayed the least developed of the four leads quite well, and is the likeliest of the cast to have a long career in acting. The others aren't awful, but I believe were mostly playing themselves rather than stretching.

So, despite its "mumblecore" style (whatever that is), generally unsympathetic characters, and unappetizing themes of aimlessness, dissolution, and inchoate rage and frustration, I found "Bellflower" to be an interesting bellwether look at the zeitgeist of the current 20-something generation. They have my sympathy and admonitions to hang in there; things could actually be a lot worse. And those of you interested in atypical indies could do a lot worse than this one.

a disjointed mess

[billcr12 · 3/10 · 26 November 2011]

The most interesting aspect of Bellflower is the soundtrack. The storyline and structure is completely disjointed. The advance word was about a flame throwing car in a Mad Max type of apocalyptic world. The car is a very small part of this character driven film.

The writer, director and star is Evan Glodell, who uses a hand held camera shots and quick editing which becomes very tedious. Glodell plays Woodrow and Tyler Dawson is Aiden, his best friend. The pair are Beavis and Butthead come to life, with constant "hey dudes" every minute; script writing is not Mr. Glodell's strong suit. The two leads are constantly drinking and neither seems to have a job.

The use of flashbacks from beginning to end and made me wish for the finish.

Bellflower looks as if it was done using a cheap video camera with Glodell and his friends on a weekend binge.

Amazing

[cashmantyler · 10/10 · 10 September 2011]

This movie had me completely enthralled the entire time. It takes your brain and emotions and rips them in two. The story is a crazy jumble of two friends lives and how dramatically things change when love becomes tangled in them, and how much losing love destroys people.

The way the movie is filmed and edited gives it a dreamlike yet plausible view of life. It's easy to relate to the sense of adventure and heartache this movie represents because of how real it all seems.

The acting was amazing, the writing was amazing, everything about this movie screams amazing. If you have the chance to see it, do yourself a favor and do.

An original debut film complete with dirt, sweat, and whiskey

[chaz-28 · 7/10 · 13 September 2011]

Bellflower is the result of some filthy filmmaking. I do not mean that as they did a poor job, far from it. I mean the shots are so real and intense that you can almost smell B.O., sweat, and whiskey while sitting in an air conditioned theater. There is a road trip scene where it looks like the camera lens was cleaned with spit and a dirty paper towel. This is not the California you are used to seeing on screen.

Woodrow (Evan Glodell) and Aiden (Tyler Dawson) are lifelong best friends and share the same goal, to be ready for the apocalypse. In their spare time, which seems to be all of their time, they build their own flamethrower and Mad Max looking Road Warrior car with dual flamethrowers mounted on the back. This is the result of kids watching Mad Max 100 times. When the apocalypse happens, they will drive around in this ready for war vehicle with their hand-held flamethrower; wouldn't you follow them? That is what they are hoping for. Woodrow and Aiden build their gadgets more for fun, they are not completely serious that they expect Armageddon to occur tomorrow, but they wouldn't mind it if it did.

An unexpected force arrives between these two friends though. Milly (Jessie Wiseman) and Woodrow hit it off and start spending all of their time together. Their first date involves driving to Texas to eat at a day old meatloaf restaurant. It appears they get off on following through with high stakes dares. The script wisely avoids a love triangle but Aiden does resent that he has lost his best friend to a girl; now who prepare for the apocalypse with him? Relationships, however, usually start strong and sometimes go astray. The second half of the film deals with some intense and gut-wrenching episodes on dealing with emotional pain. Add in the always flowing booze which every character seems to live off of as life juice and some not so wise decisions suddenly look very attractive. Glodell, who also wrote and directed Bellflower, shows some of the most realistic and gritty violence which has ever been filmed.

Bellflower is a very good and original debut film. The soundtrack works, the acting is OK, and the cinematography is what you will remember the most after it is over. This low budget experience is a breath of fresh air from over produced and stale studio productions. Just don't breathe in too deeply or else you might taste some of Medusa's exhaust or one of the character's three day old whiskey breath.

Looks good, but boy is it weird

[daniel-829 · 4/10 · 10 March 2012]

I had high hopes for this one. Pretty good ratings and a neat plot summary.

Long story short: I didn't finish it.

It starts out rather slow, but pleasantly so. You get used to the visuals (that I thought were a little overdone - like those instamatic iPhone pics that people think are artsy) and appreciate them, mostly, and you get a feel for the characters. You start to like the two dudes, their quirkiness and maybe even start to relate to them a bit, if you are/were quirky in your youth.

Up until the point where the main dude gets cheated on by his girlfriend. That's when things fall apart. Or at least they did for me, since I had to fast-forward the screaming girl parts (couldn't stand it) and I got lost in what was real and what not. Suddenly the movie jumps around the time-line, main dude goes mental, then he doesn't ... I didn't understand it and I didn't try to, in the end.

If this is a first for the director, it was very well done. I actually think the acting was pretty good, too, except some scenes seemed a little improvised (like the girl-fight scene, too much use of one single word and it seemed like this was the first take) and wooden. The visual style was neat, too, in a way. Like I said, overdone but not bad for the plot.

But as for the finale, I would have probably appreciated a linear storyline a lot more than this knotted up thing.

4 out of 10. Had a lot of potential, couldn't deliver it all, but OK all in all, even if I didn't finish it.