Based on the directors own experiences, CHAPERONE is the story of a 28 year old woman working as a box office person at a small town movie theater in Hawaii who has an affair with a guy ten years her junior who thinks she's his age.
This film presents a problem for me, this is a small scale gem of a film that needs the festival circuit to generate interest, but kind of should never play festivals since it's going to get lost in the crush of films. Its a film that needs a gentle hand to steer the right audience, which I think is going to embrace it wholeheartedly.
While the film is really well made with some beautiful performances and a genuine sense of place, the film suffers in that it feels like any number of inde dramas that fill festival slates every year. The thing is it really isn't like all the other inde films that it looks like on the face of it. Its a film that takes a little while to get going and once it does, and once it fully opens up with all the characters and themes it reveals itself to be something quietly spectacular because the characters end up kicking you in the gut.
I really liked this film a great deal, with Mitzi Akaha giving a great performance that should get her great deal of notice. There is something wonderful going on behind there eyes. I also love that after a seeming by the numbers set up the film breaks out and goes into unexpected and emotional places.
Definitely worth a look, especially if you are willing to give the film the time to set the table before serving the meal.
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