there's not much chance of coming out clean

"you better be sure you wanna know what you wanna know." ~ kara

a film noir set in a modern day southern california beach city (san clemente, to be specific). the dialogue is incredible, the writing undeniably original, and the mood of the film is simply intoxicating. it reminds me a bit of twin peaks, if agent cooper was a teenager full of angst and bitterness.

nora zehetner, who plays the femme fatale laura, is my personal favorite. she absolutely glows on-screen, capturing a classic movie heroine's demeanor with a jaded, tired before my time edge. joseph gordon-levitt is rather fantastic, too, as the investigator with a weakness for the leading ladies.

everyone here is playing at being older, or perhaps not "playing" at all. these are the cause and effect of broken families, too much of everything, and sensory overload. everyone seems soul-broken and intellectually overwhelmed, and yet these are somehow seen as attributes and survival skills.

it works, all of it works, and this movie had me mesmerized from start to finish.

brick