Love and Roadkill (2008) - By Duane L. Martin

Film Reviews: Love and Roadkill (2008) - By Duane L. Martin
Posted on Wednesday, April 01, 2009 @ 19:24:41 Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

I've reviewed a lot of films in my time as a reviewer, and it's always a pleasure to receive one that stands out as being different. Such is the case with John David Allen's, "Love and Roadkill".

This film, based on a play by Rose Caruso, is about a woman named Joyce (Madeline Potter) whose car breaks down out on a lonely road and comes to a stop right in front of a dead deer. She tries to call for help, but her cell phone is also dead. Fortunately for her, Eddie the roadkill pick up guy (Bill Camp) happens by in his truck and stops to pick up the deer. He offers her help, but she's so frightened and distrusting that she won't emerge from her car. The rest of the film is comprised of them talking about life, death, his job and other matters both trivial and existential until finally her trust grows and she emerges from her car and allows him to give her a ride to the next town.

The nice thing about this story is that it actually has something to say. It's not just your run of the mill film about two people out on a deserted road, which usually ends up with one killing the other in some bizarre fashion. This is about two people who have a chance encounter, and through their discussion, build a bond of trust that brings one of them out of their shell and allows her to open herself up to letting someone help her rather than isolating herself from everyone.

On a production level, this film was beautifully put together. The cinematography was really well done with nicely set up shots. The script and the editing moved the film along at a perfect pace and allowed for the genuine development of a relationship between the characters in real time. The sound was flawless as well with the dialogue well recorded and clearly audible at all times. Lighting wasn't really an issue in this film because it was shot outdoors during the day, although I will say that they avoided excessive shadowing from all the trees in the area. I'm not sure whether this was something they consciously did or whether it just wasn't really an issue at the spot where they were shooting, but it looked quite good.

This film is a 14 minute short that really left me kind of scratching my head at the end. The ending wasn't what I expected at all after having been subjected to so many horror and slasher flicks. I kind of expected the guy to turn out to be some kind of a psychotic serial killer at the end or something, but that wasn't the case at all. This film isn't about that. It's about trust and opening yourself up to letting others help you and it's about life and death and choices we make. It's just a good film, and if you get a chance to check it out at a film festival near you, I'd highly recommend it. Aside from being thought provoking from a story standpoint, it's a prime example of great film making.

If you'd like to find out more about this film, you can check out the film's website at http://www.loveandroadkill.com.