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Alone
USA 2021
produced by Tammy Ridenour, Les Mahoney for Vagabond Entertainment
directed by Les Mahoney
starring Les Mahoney, Pourya Rahbar, Lisa London, Laura Lee, Angie Light, Scott Ganyo, Glenda Morgan Brown, Jillian Olson, Adelita Cramer, and the voices of Rolando Sanchez, Mike Derum, Shea Davies, Nyjo Brennen, Mehra Park, Bryan McClure, Stan Lindstadt, Joshua Tankersley, Scott A. Spangler, Kathie Lindstadt, Tammy Ridenour
written by Katherine Tomlinson, Les Mahoney, music by Edward Tex Miller
review by Mike Haberfelner
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It's early spring 2020, and Harrison (Les Mahoney) has decided to ditch
his apartment in New York City for a while to do some writing at his house
by the lake in the country - and thus when he first hears about the Corona
virus, he fails to see the gravity of it, and blames the growing panic
about it and the lockdowns that come with it on "the libtards",
and he tries to order everyone around remotely, as if nothing has
happened, from the people at his company to his lawyer (Lisa London) to
the super at his apartment building (Rolando Sanchez), failing to
understand why things don't work like before anymore, and why he isn't
allowed to return to the city, why the local supermarket has run out of
toilet paper, and why he can't even order pizza like he was used to. And
the more he feels his power dwindling (without understanding the outside
forces causing it), the angrier he gets - and the more annoyed his friends
and associates get by his constant calls - so much so that many of them
break off contact to the effect he tries to call his former wife (Laura
Lee), his estranged daughter (Jillian Olson), and even an old flame (Shea
Davies) he hasn't talked to in 20 years - all to very little effect other
than him seeing how lonely he is. It's only when he hears that his best
friend (Pourya Rahbar) he has of late neglected dies from the very disease
he tried to deny that he starts seeing things in a different light - but
it might be too late by then ...
Pandemic movies - as in movies shot with a very small cast and
crew, and much of the dialogue happening via Zoom and the like - have
pretty much became their own genre during the Covid pandemic, and mostly
out of necessity of course. a problem with that "genre" was that
it soon became too formulaic, too visually dull, and too limited in its
possibilities. Alone, while shot during the pandemic and using it
as its premise, doesn't fall into the trap that many other movies have, as
it refuses to take shortcuts, tries and succeeds to get interesting
visuals out of its limited sets, doesn't relie on Zoom calls too much,
actually avoids them if not essental for the plot, and on top of this
tells an engaging, thoughtful and thought through story that's as
relatable as it feels real - also thanks to a strong performance by
co-writer/director Les Mahoney of course. Maybe not much of a feel-good
movie to be quite honest (which the movie has never set out to be), but it
really hits all the right buttons to remain with you for a while.
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