Bellflower

Bellflower is the story of a really bad break-up. If you take immaturity, alcohol and add a flamethrower, bad things are going to happen. Written, directed and starring Evan Glodell, Bellflower is the apocalyptic tale of a relationship gone wrong. Completely made in true Indie fashion, Bellflower was picked up for distribution at the Sundance Film Festival. It is a unique, self-styled love story with a take all its own. Like a car wreck it is hard to look away.

Woodrow and Aiden (Evan Glodell and Tyler Dawson) are best friends. They moved to California because they thought it would be cool. Obsessed with the movie Mad Max, they spend all their spare time designing a flamethrower and planning for the end of the world. Relying on sketches and cartoons they made as boys they tinker, experiment and create weapons of mass destruction. Their theory is that a show of power is the final days will make them masters in a time of confusion. They call their gang Medusa and they are like grown-up little boys playing with dangerous toys. I bet that everyone knows someone like them.

Woodrow has recently broken up with a girl and Aiden drags him to a cheesy bar to get over it. Tricked into joining a cricket eating contest Woodrow meets his soulmate in Milly (Jessie Wiseman). Milly is wild child with a free spirit and a zest for life. She seldom thinks about consequences and she is the kind of friend who is fun to hang with, but you wouldn’t trust with a dollar. On a dare, Woodrow and Millie drive to Texas for their first date and fall in love on the way. Meanwhile on the road of myopic self-indulgence, Woodrow and Milly’s friends get left behind.

Milly’s best friend is Courtney (Rebekah Brandes) and she is feeling a little left out. She commiserates with Milly’s roommate and he agrees to have her birthday party there. Mike, played by Vincent Grashaw knows that Milly is a flake but he obviously has feelings for her. Meanwhile Courtney and Aiden become acquainted with each other as they both wait for their best friends to return. Aiden uses his time to pick up parts and finishes the flamethrower while Woodrow is gone. He feels a bit abandoned but is taking it better than Courtney is. The Woodrow-Milly love affair is leaving everyone in the dust.

Like most immature relationships built on superficial foundations the Woodrow-Milly affair doesn’t last, but like a weapon of mass destruction the fallout impacts those around them. Jealousy, rage, hurt and desire becomes a noxious cloud that covers them all. This tale is a tragedy but it also has moments of tenderness, brutal honesty and sweetness. You’ll feel like you know these people, or have least partied with them. You will encounter Woodrow’s gentle innocence, Aiden’s loyalty, Milly’s magnetism and Courtney’s sorrow. These are characters that you will always remember in a film that has its own special signature look and feel. If you are tired of the same ol’, same ol’, give Bellflower a try. It is a film that should be seen.

Rating: First Run It is a unique, self-styled love story with a take all its own. Like a car wreck it is hard to look away