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INDIA MENUEZ AND DAVID DAHLBOM IN UNCERTAIN TERMS

Rural hotbox

With truly indie films like Nathan Silver's Uncertain Terms, the question arises: does what happens actually matter much, or are the details of small scenes and realistic setting and character what it's all about? Within the limitations of inexperience all around and the distortions of improvisation, Uncertain Terms feels very natural and looks very good. It seems to be about a situation more than an event. One wishes it dared to develop its themes beyond the abrupt runtime of seventy-five minutes. But within these limitations, it gives us situations, and even some palpable events.

It happens at a big house in Upstate New York where a lady, who was herself a young unwed mother at one time, and was not treated very well, gives pregnant under-eighteen girls, five at a time, the nicer pre-natal environment she didn't have. This setup was inspired by Silver's mother Cindy Silver's own experience and she, who has acted before for the newly prolific filmmaker, plays the lady, who is called Carla. The five girls are played by promising young indie film actresses. Into this situation comes Carla's thirty-something nephew Robbie (David Dahlbom), who stays a while and does odd jobs while sorting out his life following a serious fight with his wife, who has slept with another man.

Carla may be extending her generosity a bit far in welcoming an attractive young man like Robbie into such a menage. At least two of the girls immediately become interested in him. Since he favors one of them, the other becomes jealous, and acts accordingly. Robbie likes the striking red-head Nina (India Menuez), and the envious one, Jean (Tallie Medelr), has a blue streak in her hair that may hint of something dangerous and unstable in her nature. The very young father of Nina's child, Chase (Casey Drogin) also comes around from time to time, only causing trouble. He wants to take responsibility but is clearly unsuited. Robbie's sometimes drunken wife Mona (Caitlin Mehner) is another wild card, waiting to be played. It begins to seem everybody has poor judgment and likely to make a mess of things. Silver has said that his mother is an expert at navigating messes, and what he gives us here are some messes. Maybe all maturity means is learning to calm down and compromise.

Uncertain Terms, 75 mins., debuted at Los Angeles, and has been shown at nearly two dozen other US and international film festivals. It releases online (Fandor) 5 June 2015.

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.