Article #3: Upstate Story Review!

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Upstate Story is a micro-budget film from director/writer/star Shaun Rose. The film follows Ellis Martin (Rose) through a pretty typical week of his life. We pick up with him on Sunday night, doing everything he can to block out the coming dull work week. The week progresses, following Ellis through the tedium of his job on a cleaning crew, nights of drinking, and attempts to find a better job anywhere else.

The conceit of the film is a fairly straightforward one. It’s shot in black in white, representing the lack of excitement and joy in Ellis’ life. This, coupled with the monotonous and downbeat voice-over that replaces any form of dialogue (sans phone calls) combine to make an opening act that is very tough to fight through. It’s depressing and difficult to find a single ray of hope. Ellis complains and criticizes the people and world around him, from his roommate’s sexual exploits to his coworkers showing up early and preventing him from a quick smoke.

While all of this makes for a pretty unexciting film, the one thing that cannot be said is that we don’t know exactly who our protagonist is. The voice given to Ellis is filled with character, dimension, and flaw. His downtrodden life eating the smallest bowlfuls of cream of wheat is on full display to the viewer, pulling you into—perhaps reluctantly—Ellis’ frustrations at life. Whether you can sympathize with his situation or not, you’ve known someone that approaches life from the pessimistic end of the spectrum.

Halfway through the film, which clocks in around an hour, we’re on Wednesday or Thursday; it’s difficult to remember when the days of the week bleed together (an intentional decision, it would seem). At this point, Rose has given us enough information to discern that Ellis’ issues are not the fault of the world. Ellis is just as much to blame for his situation as everyone else. And I was caught up in the humdrum as much as Ellis was, waiting, hoping, praying for something to shake the foundations.

And this is where Rose excels mightily. The final act of the film adds an entirely new dimension to Ellis. The stylistic choices made are not subtle, nor are they the first time I’d seen them, but it cannot be said that they are not effective. Without giving the specifics away, I’ll say that the final fifteen minutes took a film veering into the realm of forgettable and elevated it into memorable. This isn’t to say that the first two acts are bad, or even that they don’t lead us appropriately into the third act. The film, as a whole, makes sense looking back on it with a fond eye. It comes together succinctly, creating, not a story, but a depiction of a man’s life. Ellis has many lows and very few highs, but we are made aware of each of them in crucial fashion.

This film was made for next to nothing. I have the reported budget in my bank account, which is a hopeful sign for Shaun Rose’s future as a filmmaker. Upstate Story has already won multiple awards for Rose, the film’s producer Charles Trainosky, and the West Side Outsiders Film Group. I look forward to Rose receiving more opportunities to pursue his craft as a filmmaker. It reportedly took over 4 years for Upstate Story to reach its current state. I would say the endeavor yielded a film that viewers will remember and learn from.

 

You can find Shaun Rose’s full film on YouTube, currently. Here is a link to Upstate Story’s Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abovoqYFGPk

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