Sparrows Dance

Sparrows Dance
Directed by Noah Buschel
Produced by Samantha Housman
Louisa Runge
Screenplay by Noah Buschel
Starring Marin Ireland
Paul Sparks
Cinematography Ryan Samul
Edited by Brett Jutkiewicz
Production
companies
OneZero Productions
Distributed by Tribeca Film
Release dates
  • August 23, 2013 (2013-08-23) (theatrical)
Running time
81 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $175,000

Sparrows Dance is a 2012 American independent romantic drama film written and directed by Noah Buschel, starring Marin Ireland and Paul Sparks. It premiered at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival.

Plot

An agoraphobic actress goes about her unchanging daily routine alone in her New York City apartment, until an overflowing toilet forces her to call in a plumber to fix the leak. Her interactions with the chatty, sweet, saxophone-playing plumber lead her to consider changing her repetitive life.[1][2]

Cast

Production

The film was initially going to star Martha Plimpton and John Ortiz, but Plimpton left the project when her television show, Raising Hope, was picked up. Ortiz knew Marin Ireland from a theater workshop, and suggested her to Buschel. Ortiz dropped out once he was cast in the HBO show Luck, at which point Sparks was cast.[3]

Buschel intended to make a film with a low budget that wasn't a typical mumblecore film with handheld camerawork and amateur actors.[4] Many scenes play out in long takes,[5] which is a primary reason Buschel cast actors with theater experience.[3] He chose to shoot the film in a 4:3 aspect ratio, keeping Ireland front and center to emphasize her closed-off life.[4][6] The film was shot in nine days[3] and takes place almost entirely in one location, with a number of visual flourishes.[4] "I Love U So" by Cassius plays over the end credits.[4]

Paul Sparks based his performance of Wes, the saxophone playing plumber with stage fright, on comedian Mitch Hedberg, who suffered from stage fright.

Release

The film premiered at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival. It was picked up by Tribeca Film and released on VOD on August 20, 2013, and theatrically on August 23, 2013.[7][8][9]

Reception

The film was named Best Narrative Feature at the 2012 Austin Film Festival.[10] The performances and direction were widely praised. Indiewire gave the film an A, calling the lead performances "outstanding" and "pitch-perfect," Buschel's direction "inventive" and the ending "brightly triumphant."[9] The Village Voice called it "a genuine romance between two refreshingly authentic people."[11] The Hollywood Reporter called it a "charmingly quirky love story" with "deeply affecting performances by the two leads."[8]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critics' approval rating of 91 percent.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, January 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.