Review: ‘Bellflower’
Before it goes off the rails in its final third, "Bellflower" does a pretty remarkable thing: It makes you like people you probably wouldn't be able to stand in real life. Actually, "like" is too weak a word for the deep pleasure these characters stirred in me. A collection of L.A. 20-somethings permanently in thrall to irony and slackerdom, they wander the city seemingly without jobs or responsibilities. A couple of them, best friends since their childhood back in Wisconsin, wouldn't mind getting laid, but they seem just as happy playing out their "Mad Max" fantasies. "Bellflower" coasts along on the same energy: always up for something, happily self-absorbed, not quite sure what it all adds up to.
The film is the debut of writer-director Evan Glodell, who's also one of the producers and editors. If all that wasn't enough, he's the film's star as well, playing Woodrow, a sweet, sensitive dude who hangs out with Aiden (Tyler Dawson), a brasher, more confident dude he's known forever. "Dude" is the best way to describe these guys: Drinking beers, laughing at their inside jokes, they're working on building a flamethrower and ass-kicking car that can prepare them for the apocalypse they're sure is coming.
But one night, Woodrow meets Milly (Jessie Wiseman), who's essentially the female equivalent of him, except more punk and sarcastic. For their first date, they decide to drive to Texas, falling for each other along the way. But when they get back to Los Angeles, they have to see if their relationship is something that can last.
That's the overarching narrative, but "Bellflower" isn't so much about its love story as it is about these people who pass in front of Glodell's camera. Like "Breathless" or "Kids" or even "Swingers," "Bellflower" is a look at being young that's not very concerned with explaining its characters' milieu to the viewer. You either embrace their offbeat demeanor, or you spend a good chunk of the movie wondering why anyone would care about such deadbeats.
That can be a recipe for disaster, but I found much of "Bellflower" utterly beguiling. Whether it's the low-budget cameras with their dirty lenses or the occasionally portentious chapter titles, this is a film very much enamored of its own handmade aesthetic. But as a filmmaker, Glodell can back up such posturing with real style and feeling. For much of its running time, "Bellflower" uses its quirks as a way to examine how fleeting the vividness of youth can be. Just as the images seem to be in danger of evaporating at any moment, so too are the characters' sense of freedom and limitless possibility a fragile thing that could be shattered. Plus, the damn thing's just really funny, with the banter between Woodrow and Aiden an endless delight of casual one-liners and bro-speak that feels lived-in rather than performed.
If "Bellflower" was simply about its distinct take on a time of life, it would have really been special. Part of the film's high-wire act comes from the question of how Glodell can sustain his casual mastery of depicting small moments with an unerring truthfulness: the house party, the nervous first conversation between lovers about taking their relationship to the next level, the trivial flirting that may lead to something or nothing. And in the background of all this is Woodrow and Aiden's construction of their "Mad Max" survival gear, a bonding tool that is never quite explained beyond the fact that both guys think it would be awesome to have a car that shoots flames.
But then, Glodell loses his balance. Trouble in Woodrow's relationship with Milly inspires a radical tonal shift in the film from which it never quite recovers. "Bellflower" remains a stylish creature, but the narrative fleetness slips away, resulting in a finale that doesn't live up to all that's come before. Glodell has said that "Bellflower" was inspired by true events, and judging from the ending he hasn't quite figured out how to turn those real-life situations into satisfying art. Instead, everything comes tumbling out in pain and blood. Anyone older than the characters in "Bellflower" will watch this film and perhaps reminisce about the happy cloud of naivety that once engulfed them too when they were younger. But they'll also remember that that cloud eventually burns away as adulthood starts to take hold. With "Bellflower," Glodell seems stuck between those two stages of life, and he isn't sure where to go next.
Grade: B+
