2011-2020 Arthouse Drama Nathan Silver USA

Nathan Silver – Uncertain Terms (2014)

adminAugust 31, 2019

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A rural group home for pregnant teen-agers is the setting for this intimately detailed, sharply observed modernist melodrama, directed by Nathan Silver. The director’s mother, Cindy Silver, plays Carla Gottlieb, the residence’s founder and leader. Carla—herself a onetime unwed mother—hosts five girls at a time; in quiet but intense confessional scenes of formal sharing or offhand chat, they discuss their difficult situations. The troubles ramp up with the arrival of Carla’s grown nephew, Robbie (David Dahlbom), newly separated from his wife, who volunteers for a two-week stint as a handyman. While there, Robbie becomes a part of the household and falls in love with Nina (India Menuez), one of the pregnant women, sparking conflict with her boyfriend, Chase (Casey Drogin). Silver’s incisive direction blends patient discernment and expressive angularity; he develops his characters in deft and rapid strokes and builds tension with an almost imperceptible heightening of tone and darkening of mood. The involuted acting and the freestyle cinematography, intensely sensitive to the flickers of the moment, yield sensual and emotional wonders. With a superbly poised, experienced independent-film cast that includes Gina Piersanti (“It Felt Like Love”), Hannah Gross (“I Used to Be Darker”), and Tallie Medel (“The Unspeakable Act”).
Richard Brody | The New Yorker