shark-43
I can't believe the gushing reviews for this film - it has to be relatives or friends of the filmmaker and/or cast and if so - I get it. I understand how you want to support an effort by friends and there is some talent behind the film but NOT Hitchcock for crissakes. Get a hold of yourself. Now if it is true that a bunch of locals made this in a barn structure in Indiana - that is impressive to pull this all together and get it made. But the script and the two male leads reek of bad college experimental theatre - lots of screaming and then threatening whispers - guns and knives being pointed - just lame Tarantino posing. The girl - who is handcuffed to a bed most of the picture gives a solid performance - she's believable - you look in her eyes and see wheels turning but the two male actors just seem like amateurs - not believable at all - you can yell all you want but I don't believe for a second that you are dangerous. And look - the film got released on DVD - that's big - that will get it seen by a lot of people but people who have nothing to do with the production - just film fans who paid money to rent it or buy it and they are entitled to say what they think - and I think it is a good effort but overall - it drags and sputters and doesn't really work overall.
emorgret
I discovered this movie while building the schedule for my new film festival. Now called Maelstrom Festival of Horror and the Fantastic. It was so well received at the screening that I am bringing it back for Crypticon Seattle. It will play at 11:00pm Friday night the 23rd of May.This is a film worth checking out. If you spend any time looking at small indie films you will appreciate "Sympathy". Powerful and compelling find it and watch it.People stuck in a room after a heist. What are they doing in the hotel room and who is really calling the shots?
lajr
Wow, I saw Sympathy in Indy at the Horror Hound weekend. It's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Arik Martin's sterling screenplay is a powerful example of how writing is always the bedrock for any movies success. I consider myself somewhat of an expert at guessing the plot lines and figuring out the endings long before the movie is half over. Not this time though, Arik Martin's skill at storytelling was always two steps ahead and kept me at the edge of my seat. Just as I thought I had Sympathy figured it made a sharp turn and then made another and another until I was just left agog. For the first time in a long time I gave up thinking about the direction and the destination and just let this magnificent movie overwhelm my sense's. The three actors were fantastic and so believable that I felt I was in the room with them. The director did a great job with the actors and the action. They all get high fives for interpreting the screenplay and giving us such a fantastic movie. A big congrats to all.
Greg Suarez
I just finished watching a screener DVD of Sympathy and I was left floored. I grew up a couple of houses down from director Andrew Moorman, so I was anxious to see what a kid from my hometown could do if he were given a chance to break away from a small berg in Ohio.Wow. Just... wow. This is a chilling and often disturbing character study that could have easily been nothing more than a bad student film. But thanks to Moorman's eye for excellent photography and ability to direct his actors, Arik Martin's riveting script and the cast's brutal, naked honesty in their portrayals, this film stands among the best first efforts from any director. If you liked Reservoir Dogs, you'll love Sympathy.Sympathy is Hitchcock's Rope for the 21st century. The entire movie is shot in one hotel room and has only three actors. The story grows deliciously claustrophobic as the trio continues to chew and gnaw at each other's psyches, culminating into some "Holy sh*t!" moments later in the film. Again, the story is sharp, witty and holds the audience's attention. But what impressed me the most was Moorman's use of a seemingly endless amount of shots that kept the claustrophobic setting alive. Where Hitchcock used protracted, contemplative photography in Rope, Moorman edited his film so that it was a rusty shiv constantly swiping at the audience until the end when it severs the Jugular.The only complaint that I can register for Sympathy is a matter of logic that comes up late in the film. I cannot go into more detail without spoiling the ending. However, the rest of the film is so solid that I am willing to overlook it.Watch out for Andrew Moorman because if Sympathy is any indication, he is ready to take on Hollywood. Do yourself a favor and go out of your way to see this film. Because when Moorman is making successful, critically acclaimed films in the coming years, you can brag to your friends that you were a fan of Moorman's before he was famous.