Sorry, this movie sucks

good back-story, and good acting

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A quintet of barflies overstays their welcome, taking shots, drinking beer, musing over racetrack winnings, and finally vomiting in the back alley or singing about the evening's revelries. The following morning, Richard "Ditch" (Eddie Jemison) has few words to exchange with his cheerless, drug-addled spouse Mary (Laura Lamson) before he heads out for a stroll with "Gat" (David Jensen) to the local café, Anita's Grill, manned by Augie (John Mese). When Arthur "The Professor" (Joe Chrest) and Leon "The Robot" (Wayne Pere) arrive (completing the fivesome conglomeration from the night before), an argument breaks out over a small sum of borrowed cash, resulting in Ditch dishing out hurtful comments before storming off.Devising a dastardly retaliation for Ditch's unsavory behavior, Arthur plots to seduce Mary by stopping at the apartment and running through his wily magazine salesman shtick. Utilizing words of whimsy to paint a fantastical escape from Mary's humdrum routines, Arthur evokes a curious response from the lonely woman. When Richard gets wind of the ruse, he orchestrates his own ideas of entrapment. Meanwhile, Ditch's sister Evie (Andrea Frankle), who is getting married to Carlo during the coming weekend, is distraught over an unplanned pregnancy, Mary's failure to craft a suitable dress for the event, and an untimely encounter with an old acquaintance.Black-and-white cinematography, abrasive language (which is not as edgy as it thinks it is), smooth jazz, and professional camera-work preside over the angry, dissatisfied tone of hateful ramblings. Disputes about owed monies, soul-sucking executives and wives, lost potential for satisfying relationships, unfulfilling careers, and meager material possessions are contemplated over coffee and soup. The antagonistic Richard isn't clever in his theories; instead, he rather unwieldily uses mean-spirited manipulation and harassment to gather clues to Arthur's unoriginal master plan. Gat's bemusement over opportunities for infidelity (and the varying levels of unforgivable interferences with marital arrangements) is similarly not as complicated as it strives for; instead, it's contrived, especially considering that the audience never sees his significant other or is given a chance to understand his discontent. And Evie's romantic roving is based solely on her sorrowful explanations of obligations to the looming marriage. Each character is fashioned to be dislikable or intentionally troubled for the sake of dramatic predicaments – and the result is not stark realism as much as it is just general bitterness.In the end, it's all about the feeling of being stuck in depressingly unchangeable circumstances that contribute to overwhelming mediocrity and tedium. Escape and happiness, it would appear, are futile. Assigning blame to avoid taking responsibility for impulsive decisions, numerous lies, a twisted sense of determination, and the dreary contemplation of convenience saturating important life choices plague this dour lot. But why would anyone want to witness midlife crises and angst when the characters have nothing to offer but commonplace routines?The picture is not so much a focus on the minutia of average dysfunction as it is a mere exercise of the refusal to latch onto a point of significance - or an episode of gravity - for storytelling. Fortunately, when it comes to the acting, there's an undeniable sense of naturalness and ease to the cast's exchanges and interactions, as if they're portraying only slightly skewed representations of their actual selves. But as the story progresses, they're forced into insincere conversations and disingenuous atonements, steadily drifting away from the casualness of their initial communications. Few sets, minimal roles, and technical quality are admirable elements for an independent film with a shoestring budget; the lack of an engaging story is not.

King of Herrings reminds me of the excitement I felt when I first saw Jim Jarmusch's 'Down By Law.' The writing is fresh and fits the setting. The characters live in a parallel universe that draws the viewer in and enlists you to care about their decisions. No car crashes or bank heists. Just human conflict - petty and personal - and believable resolves. Very glad I discovered this film and this unique collection of actors. Eddie Jemison has written himself a memorable character cut from that Joe Pesci cloth of spontaneous and utterly unpredictable screen wise guys. King of Herrings is a pure old school indie, the kind of film that makes you wish you were still hammering out your screenplay on a typewriter rather than a MacBook.

King of Herrings is a wonderful film. It speaks to a way of life in New Orleans, to anyone who has lived with the same group of people for many years only to find you don't like them all, to anyone who has hoped for rescue only to find that they must rescue themselves.When you look into the world of King of Herrings, you see characters that have fallen into painful rhythms, hurtful, manipulative relationships, and petty oneupmanship. And yet some of these beautifully rendered characters still strive to reach beyond the limits of their day to day existence and make good on their dreams.The characters are each brought to life in performances that are visceral and truthful. Some content with their way of life an others hoping for a change that will make their life somehow better. The story follows the characters as they go about their lives over several days, and through events and interactions that will impact their lives going forward.The actors have been friends for more that twenty years, and their on-screen chemistry comes from a genuine friendship and rapport. This charm is evident from the first frame and through to the end.It is the winner of the Audience Favorite Narrative Film at the New Orleans Film Festival, and I was fortunate to have seen it there. I have to recommend this film to anyone who loves film.

Had the great opportunity to see a free viewing of this film at BRCC today after our closing ceremony for Art fest. We were also fortunate to meet the actors and production (skeleton) crew. I refer to skeleton because the crew conceited of 2 people. It was great to meet and ask a few question. They were very approachable and were happy to let us pick their brains about the film and what it took to produce. I found that the film gave a sense of familiarity; a feeling that one could connect with the characters and the dynamics of each of their relationships. By featuring the film in black and white I believe it brought another level of depth not only to the story line but also the backdrop.