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Review: Down and Yonder (2 of 5 stars)

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By Christina Nicole

Down and Yonder is a Georgia-grown independent film. It is slow like the southern drawl in a small town, and mildly charming.  The opening sequence is put together quite well from a technical standpoint, but unfortunately the rest of the film doesn’t hold up to the same level.

The acting isn’t bad, the writing is fine, the directing is ok, the editing is solid and the sound is pretty good. The film doesn’t exactly fall flat, but overall, it’s lukewarm. By Aristotle’s definition, Down and Yonder is a comedy but it isn’t particularly comedic or dramatic, and it’s definitely not a thriller. The film doesn’t really fit into any particular category well. The rising and falling action in this film is nearly a straight line; it ebbs and flows like a still lake on a breezy day.

There’s a lot of talking in Down and Yonder, but not a lot of action or people. The characters say “remember when” or “remember that time we…,” but then there’s no flashback; the actor just continues telling the story while sitting or standing fairly still. There are times when one character will ask another why they did something there’s a very straight forward response. There’s no subtext or much of a love story. There’s never a whole going on; it’s simple, like a small in the south.

Down and Yonder is not a bad film; it might be about 5-10 minutes too long, but it feels like it could be a festival darling. One can tell that the filmmakers have great potential; they did a lot on a low budget. The film just doesn’t show much range of emotion and it doesn’t elicit much emotion from the audience; it’s borderline stoic. The film isn’t much to write home about; I give the film 2 of 5.

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