Infused with a raw honesty found in films such as Larry Clark’s Kids and Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen, the stunning new film, All the Weekend’s Drama, is a strong feature debut for writer-director John Robb Saunders. This is a well-written picture that doesn’t look down on its cast of teens and young twenty something characters.
Laken Giles stars as Chloe, an aimless twenty year-old who works as a janitor and spends what little money she makes on drugs and alcohol; a crutch to help her forget her life of poverty. Chloe and her “peeps” seem to fear any semblance of real emotion and close themselves off from a world they fear doesn’t want them. Safe in their bubble of the 24 hour party, life has gone backwards for Chloe (and many of the people she knows) causing each relationship to overflow with conflict.
When she ends up pregnant (she doesn’t know the father), Chloe reassess her lifestyle and works at making a change.
Friend and roommate Nina (Sharihan Haddad) is the most together of anyone Chloe knows. She works a steady job and is trying hard to make something of herself. Unfortunately, Chloe’s disrespect for their house and lackadaisical attitude towards finances has put them at odds, though the pregnancy will find them reconnecting on deeper levels.
A kind teenager named Benny (Brett Cormier) is friend to both Chloe and Nina and one who brings out the nurturing side in the former.
On the negative side, Madison (Alexis Figueroa) is always high or drunk and too-often disrespects Chloe, going so far as to steal money from her while she sleeps. Just the type of friend Chloe doesn’t need, though the screenplay doesn’t cast her a villain. Madison is seen as another casualty of poverty-stricken America.
Drug dealer Michael (Micah Flamm) is an interesting character. This is a young man who regrets the life choices he made, but will do nothing to put him on a better path. Son to an abusive dad, he has given up on a better life and unwillingly embraced the sins of the father. In one of the film’s best moments, Michael speaks to Benny about holding onto his youth for as long as he can, as adulthood is harder than one could imagine.
A well-crafted side character is Imara (Cady Mariano), a friend of Nina and single mom who becomes an important part of Chloe’s life, delivering one of the most moving monologues in the film. It is interesting to watch the dynamics of how Imara’s role in Chloe’s life goes from fleeting association to confidant.
The cast of newcomers is uniformly good. Each performance is embodied with truth and (thanks to Saunders’ excellent screenplay) the cast stays away from caricature. Director Saunders allows for long scenes of dialogue with minimal cutting that give his actors space to create. Sometimes moving, sometimes infuriating, the conversations between these characters carry a powerful emotional punch.
This is the perfect storm of script, cast, and filmmaker.
All the Weekend’s Drama is a smart film that has something real to say about poverty in America and how our country fails its youth. The stress of growing up poor has lasting negative effects on our children, but we live in a time where our political system has a “blame the victim” mentality when it comes to the poor. If one is young and hears nothing but how they will never have opportunities due to their economic situation, it can alter a person’s self image and stunt the desire to grow as a person. It is heartbreaking to see so many poverty-stricken youth blaming themselves for their plight.
John Robb Saunders handles these issues with empathy and intelligence. These are people who know nothing else above the poverty line and let themselves slip into the traps society has laid for them. Drugs and drink keep them in a false sense of party mode, while reality and the ability to change seems just out of reach. Some overcome their situation while others seem to revel in failure. The director doesn’t let them off easy, nor does he make excuses for them; leaving it to the audience to decide what to make of it all.
In his unrelenting, yet tender presentation of these young souls, Saunders has crafted a film that is as frank and direct as a John Cassavetes picture.
All the Weekend’s Drama is something truly special.
The film premieres June 23rd at the Dances With Films festival.
All the Weekend’s Drama
Written & Directed by John Robb Saunders
Starring Laken Giles, Sharihan Haddad, Alexis Figueroa, Cady Mariano, Brett Cormier, Micah Flamm, Cristal Bella, Barbara Crispino Saunders, Long You
NR, 108 Minutes, 95.7 productions