"Finding Red Cloud" Review - Written by TonyD

“Finding Red Cloud”
2008?
***½ out of ****
Director: Michael O’Connor
Cast: Eddie Kehler, Michael Wayne James, Melissa Lechner


A portion through “Finding Red Cloud,” a little indie film that was just completed a few weeks ago, I paused it for a second. I looked at the image of a character trying to pleasure herself which showed how lonely she is for love and attention. Another portion of the movie, I paused and said to myself that this is the kind of film that I usually hate. I kind of got into this film knowing nothing about it except that it was finished a few days before the director sent a message to me. He just told me that it starred John Billingsley too… but he’s only in it for about two minutes really.

I was surprised how much I liked the film. I didn’t think much about it the first time I watched it, however, but I really liked it during the second watch. The characters are people who are equally funny and engaging (unlike that other little film that I watched this weekend) and the situations are realistic and do not contain hobbits as the villains. I hope that it makes its way to all of your homes within the next eleven months with a great score. But if the version that I saw is the only one that you can all get your hands on within the next year, it will work out perfectly fine.

“If you hadn’t made it in Hollywood by forty, you can forget it,” an agent tells Bennon, (Eddie Kehler) a middle-aged man who is turning forty in a week. Bennon and his wife (Lori Lamb) have recently gotten a divorce, and he has nowhere else to go. His good friend Moira (Melissa Lechner) is so lonely that she puts an ad in the paper asking for someone if they want to rent the room. Bennon breaks into Moira’s house after a man calls about staying over her house, asking for a place to stay. When this guy comes knocking on the door, Bennon convinces Moira to let him stay. The guy is Mike (Michael Wayne James), another middle-aged man who is having problems with everything in his life.

Together, these three people live together and spend time with each other for a while. Bennon helps Mike become a “superhero,” as Moira watches these two guys get along just fine. She becomes jealous as Bennon was once just like Moira is, but as soon as Mike comes in, he changes. Moira is just looking for someone to be one with, as we all are. If you think that Ashley Judd was convincing in “Bug” as a lonely woman looking for a friend, just wait until you see Melissa Lechner’s outstanding performance as Moira. As she self-pleasures herself, she tries to fake an orgasm but realizes that she can’t do it. She needs someone else to help her do it. For a teenager saying this, you would be surprised, but as a person who called Ashley Judd’s performance in “Bug” as the best performance of 2007, you should be even more surprised.

The heart and soul of “Finding Red Cloud” is Michael Wayne James. He’s different compared to the other two main characters, as he is the only character who just wants to make a good impression on someone. The guy wants to be a hero. He sits in a superhero costume just begging to save the day one of these days. He’s as desperate to save someone as Lechner’s character is for loving someone. It would be hard not to overlook this guy’s performance while considering the most convincing performance of 2008, and it is only the start.

The direction is beautiful looking. Instead of director Michael O’Connor showing us the highlife of Hollywood, where Lindsay Lohan crashes her ninth car of the night and Britney Spears burps the alphabet, he shows us the other side of Hollywood. This is the kind of Hollywood that we don’t see unless if we see the characters standing next to famous celebrities. I’m glad that O’Connor picked different kinds of characters to write about, instead of the usual characters that we know of that live in Hollywood.

“Finding Red Cloud” is an outstanding achievement for Independent Cinema, and none of you have heard of it. Director Michael O’Connor sent me a message telling me how hard it is to promote a film, and I know what he means. So in order to help this guy, I ask that each and every one of you continue following this film through the stages of post-production. If anyone wants his email address asking for a screener, it is anderconic@sbcglobal.net. I'm sure the man can use as much publicity as possible The film is definitely worth your time.