SXSW Review Some Days are Better than Others
Director: Matt McCormick World Premiere Narrative Competition 93 minutes
Synopsis Some Days are Better Than Others is a poetic, character-driven feature-length film that asks why the good times slip by so fast while the hard times always seem so sticky. The film explores ideas of abundance, emptiness, human connection and abandonment while observing an interweaving web of awkward characters that maintain hope by inventing their own forms of communication and self-fulfillment. Written and directed by Matt McCormick and featuring Carrie Brownstein, James Mercer, Renee Roman Nose, and David Wodehouse, Some Days are Better Than Others is a sad valentine to the forgotten discards of a throwaway society, and a story about knowing when to hold on, and when to let go.
Director Bio Matt McCormick is a Portland based filmmaker and artist who has made several short films, music videos, and art installations. His work crosses genre distinctions and has been exhibited in venues ranging from Sundance to MoMA to MTV. Some Days are Better than Others is his first feature length film.
WHO'S IT FOR? Disillusioned Portlanders who need a kick of depression to get back on the right track will welcome this film.
OVERALL
Recession and depression go hand in hand as McCormick shows us in Some Days are Better than Others. The grey days of Portland and the coast are the perfect spots for these wandering souls. This isn't the typical depression a movie dives into, where tragedy has struck at every turn. This is life. In some cases it's not even exaggerated. Do you recognize Katrina (Brownstein)? She's in the band Sleater-Kinney. I knew her from somewhere, but I didn't realize bands were involved in this "guess who" contest. Katrina has the most uncomfortable storyline as a girl who knows her boyfriend's email password. To pile it on, she also is obsessed with reality TV. Eli (James Mercer) gives some sound advice for living cheaply (like hitting up Stumptown in the morning). At his core, Eli just doesn't have motivation to change his lot in life. Many will identify with him, especially now when slackers are having to put force effort to get a low-level job. I assume this is the reason McCormick wants us to come along for the ride. Watching these people will hopefully snap you out of that funk you're in. If not, careful, because it could just bring you down. The world can be ugly, gloomy, hopeful, inspiring. So can this movie.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10