“Luckey Quarter”, by Diana Russel. A.K.A ” A modest, but fun Dollar Baby”
If there is one thing that no one can say about this low budget independent movie is that this is not a fun short movie to watch.
That being said, yes, there are things that I don’t like in this short movie and I will talk about them, but always with respect and my words from now on should be read as constructive criticism.
Bernd was the one who showed me this movie and said that we should make a review of it. But one of the first things he said to me was “be nice! Take into consideration that this is a very low budget movie, independent and one of the first movies of Diana’s”. He said that and I thanked him, because I know (and sometimes I forget) that I can also be an ass, especially if I am judging someone’s work.
Let me explain: don’t get me wrong, I am not an ass all the time, but sometimes I can be very critical at analyzing someone’s art, movies for instance. That happens because I watch too many movies, that is one of my favourite hobbies, so I do spend a lot of time watching them. I have always been like this, since I was just a kid, and once you do this for so long it’s obvious that you develop preferences, what you like and what you don’t like. And if this is a passion it becomes natural that you have strong feelings for what you like and also for what you don’t like.
When I started to study to become a filmmaker it became worse, I became even more critical about movies that I consider bad or even if I consider that it was done badly. And nowadays I consider my time too precious (please, read it in Gollum’s voice) to spend on something that I consider bad. For long features I give it 20 minutes to hook my attention, because it usually takes this time to introduce the characters and the story. For short movies this “rule” is different, because they have less time, so I usually see how long is the movie before I start, so when it begins I will judge if the filmmaker is losing precious (Gollum! Gollum) time of his already short time. If I consider that the short movie is wasting it’s time (and mine), I just stop watching it.
And yes, I am an anxious guy and I did have the urge to stop watching this Dollar Baby at some points. Bernd predicted that it would happen, that is why he said those things. So I already started to watch knowing that I could feel this way, so in respect to the filmmaker to whom Bernd promised a review, I gave the short movie a chance. And I really thank Bernd for this.
It turns out that I had so many mixed feelings at watching this short movie: Yes, I would do something different, I would edit in a different way, I would make a shorter movie, I would never allow THAT cinematography mistake, and I never ever allow that production design. Buuuut I had some fun watching the Dollar Baby, it is a really fun movie, a fun Dollar Baby.
The fun starts at the first seconds of the movie, when the music starts while we see the protagonist driving her car. Now, let me say that every single song that Diana Russel chose for the movie was a perfect song. I can’t recall any other Dollar Baby that nailed so much by choosing every single song, because it is normal to have one or two real good songs that is perfect for a scene or for a character.
But what Diana did was something that great filmmakers (like Tarantino) do, she had the sensitivity to choose good songs in a way that it is not some song to cover the silence, but good songs that talks to the movie’s theme, talk to the character’s feelings and thoughts and also entertain the audience. That is the first good thing I found at this Dollar Baby, in its first seconds. You know, I usually try to find the songs that I like in Dollar Babies so I can add to my Dollar Baby’s playlist in Spotify and the songs of this movie definitely are gonna be part of that list, so thank you Diana, you created musical memories for me 🙂
But the best thing about Diana’s Dollar Baby is her main actress, Jessica Brown. That choice was a goal on many levels, because not only now I can’t imagine another actress playing this role, but I also felt that Jessica’s acting should be known by everybody. She is fun and talented, her Darlene is so believable, there are so many little things that recall King’s other struggling women that he wrote about. Part of this is because of how Diana wrote the screenplay, of course. Diana was not only faithful to the original short story, but also showed that she knows King’s work. Because there are things in the short movie that King didn’t write for Darlene, but I feel that Diana took from other female characters that King created. And let’s face it, King nails at creating believable female characters. But it is so good when I watch a Dollar Baby with a female main character directed and written by a woman. “Luckey quarter” nailed it, because it shows that women also think that King’s female characters are believable. So thank you Jessica and Diana.
Another great choice from Diana in her cast were the kids, Diana you nailed in it again. Because they are not amazing actors, but they are cute and competent. And I already said in previous reviews that when I see independent short movies that have kids in it, man, the filmmaker automatically earns my respect, because I am a father and I know how difficult kids can be. I already had the chance to film with kids and I know how difficult it can be. So, Diana, the scenes and lines you got from those kids are a great achievement in your movie, especially the scenes with the young girl. I hope you guys had some fun by filming this movie, because at the end of the day that is what really matters in independent short movies, having fun.
You know, by giving this movie a chance I remembered once again how it was for me to be a young filmmaker, my first experiences on set. And that also made me once again realize how much of an ass I am while I am judging a movie as a bad movie or a good movie. Because once I think some movie sucks and tell another person that, I forget that some of my movies sucks too, especially the first ones. There are some projects of mine that sometimes I wanna set them on fire so no one will ever have the chance to watch it again. But then I remember how much fun I had by filming them and how proud I was once they were done. Diana, your movie made me stop to think about it, made me write it down. Once again, thank you.
Diana, be proud of your movie! Be proud of what you achieved. Yes, there is room for improvement, but let me ask you: did you have fun? If the answer is yes, that is what really matters. Because independent movies won’t make you rich, sometimes they won’t even pay the bills, but at least you had some fun by doing them. And this kind of project pays us in a different coin, one that only makes our hearts and souls. Diana, thank you for reminding me that.
The Dollar Baby’s grade? We from SKSM give one finger from the dead guy’s hand. The other four? Well, the dead kind of lost it again, this time because he gambled them at Diana’s casino.
That is it for today. Hope you guys liked this review. See you next time
Leonardo Granado
