Some Freaks is a film that is trying very hard to be an indie coming of age story, but suffers from weak writing and questionable cinematography. It is writer/director Ian MacAllister McDonald’s first film and, unfortunately, it shows. McDonald managed to get two very strong leads, but created characters that did things that didn’t seem like them, alluded to too many subplots that felt unnecessary to the big picture, and a cinematographer still learning the trade.
Some Freaks fails to hit the mark
Matt (Thomas Mann) lives his life in high school just trying to be left alone, which is hard because of his eyepatch and the mystery that lies underneath it. He befriends, and eventually falls in love, with Jill (Lily Mae Harrington), who is an aunt to his best Elmo (Ely Henry), who gets picked on because of her weight. Their relationship is tested when high school ends and Jill moves back to California for college.
Jill is the most relatable character, but a lot of her back story and issues they suggest are never really worked out. There is a touching scene where she plays the keyboard and convinces Matt to sing with her despite his reservations. It doesn’t need to be anything more than that, but the way the scene plays out implies it was setting something up that is never delivered. Matt constantly acts in ways that seem out of place and even at odds with the person he is supposed to be. He gets overly aggressive in a scene late in the film, which truly felt out of place.
The element that felt the most out of place was Elmo, who is the third character in this uneven triangle. His role in the film never really seems clear as his importance to it changes dramatically in the middle. Initially, he is simply the connection Matt needs to meet Jill and also put his foot in his mouth. Then Elmo vanishes for a long portion of the film only to return and then become a major element of act three. There, McDonald cuts between three parallel stories and it really seemed odd as Elmo’s character hadn’t earned that much screen time.
Other issues revolve around cinematography
Adding to the questionable narrative is some even more questionable camera work. There are elements where the main characters are out of focus too long. It doesn’t appear to be a creative choice as much as it appears the cinematographer, Joe Zizzo, is waiting for the autofocus to find the subject. Then there is a nauseating tracking shot that opens the film. At first, the shakiness seemed as if it was trying to imply a found footage handheld style, but fortunately they moved away from that for the most part.
The film, the first that I saw at the 2017 Florida Film Festival, doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to say if anything at all. It could be a slice of Life look at teenagers, but it doesn’t really focus on a particular aspect to make it clear. Fortunately, the performances in the film were enough to make it tolerable even when they were doing things that felt totally unexpected. The expectations may have been too high going into it as it was my first film for the festival. Some Freaks earns the Not a Total Waste of Time rating.
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