I won't say that it's really a rare occurrence, but the number of dramas I get on a yearly basis I can probably count on two hands. Maybe even one. The reason for this is that it's usually a lot heavier of an undertaking to try and deliver a very solid drama. So, when I get one in I always get high hopes because when done right a romantic drama can be one of the most important of all film entities. Carter is a film quite different than anything you might expect. We've all sat through at least one "arthouse" romantic drama before, which to me would be a relationship based film with a relaxed pace that does some kind of honest soul searching, but Carter is something different. It does those things, but comes from a really grounded place. It has that relationship focus, but it's such a free flowing narrative that at times you never really know where it is going. You just see the hurt and warmth that lies underneath the facade of these characters, which is thanks to the spectacular performances throughout. They make it all work, even when the film wanders off into these distant subjects you really learn to love these characters. Then when the tragic "plot" enters back into the situation, you're reminded just how sad it all is in the first place that someone could hold onto something seemingly so unimportant while forgetting all the things that really ARE important.

Jebediah (Mark Robert Ryan) is a 24 year old office worker who made a vow to himself when he was 17 that if he wasn't married by the time he was 23, that he would kill himself at the age of 25. Looking to turn 25 in only a few days, he still fully plans to go through with this course of action despite being in a committed relationship with his beautiful girlfriend Carter (Julia Porter Howe). He is completely happy and content with his life, but has made this vow to himself that he just doesn't feel he can break. Everyone in his life tries to persuade him that that it's a stupid promise that he made as a young kid and that he should just forget about it. However, will he go through with it as he spends his last days with his amazing girlfriend?

Straight off the bat Carter kind of tests your patience in its opening, with a nearly eight minute sequence of Carter wandering around her apartment, just kind of setting the mood and tempo for the remainder of the feature. Not that the remainder of the film is so slow moving, but it's the sort of thing that afterward in retrospect everything else just kind of breezes past. From there on out, the film is just a series of golden moments one after the other. From a coworker talking about fetish porn to all of the soft and sweet things that happen between our two main characters. Seemingly improvised on the spot, the dialogue is at times telling us one thing while the chemistry and performances from the cast are saying something entirely different. There's a moment in the film where Carter and a friend of hers sneak into an apartment and start trying on the clothes they find within. Her friend dresses in a man's outfit, and although the scene is playing in a somewhat comedic fashion, when Carter pushes into her for a hug you know she's just thinking about her lover who may not be there in a few short days. It's a poetic moment that really burns itself onscreen and fits so well with the majority of the film even without dealing directly with the plot.

Ryan Andrew Balas and his crew deliver a powerful film that at times feels like Richard Linklater if he cared more about the inner workings of his characters rather than how they vocalize their feelings. That's not a jab at Linklater either, as I feel he's brilliant, but Balas just keeps a similar energy while delivering a completely different sort of film. I won't go heavily into the ending, but it's one of those key things that are going to seperate audiences. Where some are going to say it went far enough and some that say it did not. However, it is what it is and for the experience that Carter provided; I can't down it. It's a really fantastic piece of work and I hope more people get a chance to see it for themselves. To read more about the film, visit the official site at CarterTheMovie.com. If you're responsive to artistic filmmaking, this one will really touch you. Check it out.