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PATSY review
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What if you didn't know what was real in your life, or was just a hallucination? Today I'm reviewing an independent feature film that goes beyond being just mere entertainment. The movie is titled Patsy and is an Anton Jarvis film, shot in beautiful Palm Beach, Florida. For those who expect star talent, Michael DeLuise certainly entertains in supporting our main characters' adventure. The genre of film this fits into is dark comedy that borders on some dramatic psychological subject matter, however it's never the intention of this film to be too serious. How you deal with life is equally important in maintaining one's well being. I believe this is a film made to put the viewer into the main character's mindset, and it's quite effective in this. So, I haven't yet mentioned what this film's about? Let's get to that.....PATSY
The story is about a guy named Lenny, who works a nice retail store in Palm Beach...who happens to have a slight problem. He has schizophrenia, and it's pretty intense. The real trip, pun intended, is that he drinks and does drugs, making the next part I'm about to tell you an unique twist that makes the movie what it is. A girl named Patsy stays with him and has amnesia from an accident that gets perceptively twisted by Lenny's condition and there are several posibilities of where she comes from, or even doesn't come from. Either she's an escaped mental patient, a spy, a girl met by the beach, or doesn't exist at all. Pick one, as most of the characters in the movie support all versions of the story at different times and mental states that Lenny's in. There may be one truth here, though! Lenny has Doctor Joshua, played by Reg E. Cathey, taking care of him with an honest, yet sarcastic flair (I like this guy's forward acting style). His friends/ store co-workers are Skip, played by Ryan Mathew, and Carl, played by Michael DeLuise. The DeLuise family is known for antics, and Michael's "Iron Man" impersonation all wrapped up in tin foil and "stoner pushing a swiffer" transition clip are priceless, especially if you liked John Bellushi in Animal House. The only evil character in the movie, besides 2 thug-like guys, is a guy named Harry, played by Erik Dellums, who technically is 3 characters total. It's fun to follow the different leads and piece things together from clues. In anycase, there is a moral on top of the whole encompassing plot, which is blatently stated at the end.
The main character of Lenny is played by Brett Golov, with his counterpart, Patsy played by Christine Lakin. With a calm Rufus Sewell of Dark City look of calmness and purposefully shy-like acting style similar to Spiderman's Tobey Maquire, Brett Golov plays, or should I say downplays Lenny's mind state accurately when confronted with a schizophrenic situation. We're talking about a normal guy turned abnormal by a mental condition mixed with meds, recreational drugs, and alcohol. As a filmmaker having working closely with actors, I can only imagine how wiped Golov must have felt after each shoot involving the deeper mental states of his character. While crying on command has always been the wholly grail of acting talent, I'd have to pull a 180 and say it was very refreshing to see Lenny drooling in one scene. Yeah, yeah...funny...har har. But hey, let me be quite clear...I like when films keep it real, and this does. Let's be real on yet another level...If everything was completely "PC" and all fluffy bunny in movies, why would we ever be drawn to them? Look at horror slasher flicks...there's nothing politically correct about them, yet they are the biggest draw next to Disney flicks, which there's more horror in those. However, if you are more traditional and still want to see crying upon command, this film has that too, by the very lovely Christine Lakin in an ocean scene.
Christine Lakin is a very smooth multi-character character, as Patsy. This is because Patsy represents a couple different individuals occupying the same space within the movie, but in different mind states, possibly even of her own design, as well as Lenny's. It's hard to know if she's truly real within the movie, or all just a figment of Lenny's imagination. I tend to believe she's she's an escaped mental patient that lands in the store and Lenny's life, but do we really know for sure? This is where the viewer must take all the facts at hand and try to piece them together like a schizophrenic sufferer might have to, within the scope of their reality. Lakin is charming and pulls off the high energy roles with ease.
Patsy is Written, Directed, & Edited by Anton Jarvis. Jarvis has a personal connection with creating this movie, due to a friend having gone through a similar ordeal. The movie's emphasis, to me, seems like it is Jarvis's intent is to create a visually intriguing journey into the mind of somebody that has a condition like schizophrenia, which is achieved, as I've both mentioned. While shot like normal cinema in the majority of scenes, there are several added methods of capturing the mood, including documentary-esque following of characters, while much art is used off that to create a dreamlike state of mind to follow those individuals into. I am amazed at how it blends together so seamlessly. While there are a lot of dark comedic gags to catch within the movie, a serious tone still lingers overhead that this is not something to be taken lightly and shows that schizophrenia can have adverse effects on one's health and on those around you.
The film isn't arthouse, because it plays like any normal movie you'd rent at Hollywood Video. Is it genius? Is it tragedy turned comedy? I don't know if that's the intention, however.....there is something about the title and character named Patsy throughout the movie that merges together perfectly like one of those ink blot tests to create an image of what the movie's title actually means. The question is....do I see the same image that another person would? I believe, yes, I do! Perhaps I'm crazy, but so what? Kudos to Jarvis for the magic.
Production quality is above your typical indie, but is also a SAG production, so this is a lot larger than some buddys getting together to shoot a movie. The audio sounded tight, the visuals were solid and beautiful, thanks to good locations. The edits were smooth and everything plays out great. The color tone of the film keeps with moods and mind sets of the characters and situations. I can't really say that anything was bad in the movie, because even if there was, it's all subject to hallucinations of the characters so who would know? Okay, there is one tiny thing I don't like in the movie....Milk & Scotch mixed together as a drink....Eckkk! I'll stick with those girly Mudslides, oh yeah.
To summarize my experience, Patsy is different in that it has a story based message with a complete perspective to compliment it. I recommend it to those wanting to know what it's like to be a schizophrenic, especially students of psychology, so they don't get too high with egos to realize what a patient may be going through. Who knows what makes up our perceptions, but this movie will take you a couple places you may or may not have been. The experience is like a being in a vivid dream that you don't know your in until you wake up in bed. I enjoyed Patsy, automatically learned something at the same time, and walked away with a sense of hope.
Best, Kenny
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