Lynn Shelton

SWORD OF TRUST – comedy, and so much more

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Photo caption: Marc Maron (center) in SWORD OF TRUST

In Lynn Shelton’s brilliant comedy Sword of Trust, Mel (Marc Maron) runs a Birmingham, Alabama, pawnshop with his worthless Millennial assistant Nathaniel (Jon Bass – very funny). Cynthia (Jillian Bell) has returned to Alabama, with her partner Mary (Michaela Watkins), to claim an inheritance that disappointingly turns out to be a single antique sword. But the grandfather’s incoherent letter about the sword fits the Internet ravings of a White supremacist cult called the “Provers” (like “Truthers”), who are hunting for artifacts that “prove” that the Confederacy really won the Civil War. The four resolve to cash in an a windfall by dealing the sword to the scary underground racist cult. Comic situations, naturally, ensue.

There’s plenty of grist for comedy here, and Shelton bores in on the widespread absence of critical thinking that meshes with the Internet to give platforms to crackpot conspiracy theories. From Anti-vaxxers to Truthers, folks are now somehow comfortable with denying scientific or historical fact to fit a narrative that they prefer. In Sword of Trust, that idiocy ranges from denying the Union victory in the Civil War to even the roundness of the Earth.

Sword of Trust is very successful as a comedy, but there’s another, very emotionally powerful story in here. Mel’s ex, Deirdre, drops by the shop in an attempt to extract some cash for a modest ring. It’s clear that Deidre has had a toxic and near-ruinous impact on Mel’s life, an impact that he can’t – and perhaps won’t – escape. This story takes up less than ten minutes, essentially book-ending the sword comedy, but it’s the meat of Maron’s performance and the heartfelt core of the film.

Maron’s performance as Mel is a tour de force. When Mel first sees Diedre, he silently freezes for an instant and takes the long way around the shop to gather himself before reaching the counter. He listens to Deidre’s story with a knowing weariness in his eyes. When Deidre says “I’m good for it” and Mel replies, “No, you’re not”, it is with the quiet certainty of a man scarred. Later, Maron’s Mel relates his own back story, and it’s all the more heartbreaking because of his matter-of-factness. This is one of the best performances of the year.

Lynn Shelton in SWORD OF TRUST

And, Deidre, what a mess! The fidgety desperation just underneath her sad story du jour just nails the manipulative addict. I made a note to look up the actress playing Deidre with such compelling authenticity – and it is director Lynn Shelton herself.

There’s a real life heartbreak, too. Lynne Shelton and Marc Maron were partners, in a relatively early stage of their relationship, when they made this movie in 2019. Within a year, Shelton died suddenly of acute myeloid leukemia. The two were working on another screenplay.

Back to Sword of Trust – the entire cast is good, especially Dan Bakkedahl (Life in Pieces) as the White supremacist kingpin and prolific character actor Toby Huss as his henchman.

Sword of Trust is a very smart and funny comedy with a bonus – a rich and moving character study. You can buy the stream for $12.99 from Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play, and it’s well worth it.

OUTSIDE IN: she finds herself finally ready

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Edie Falco in OUTSIDE IN

The fine director Lynn Shelton has died at age 54. Shelton’s drama Outside In begins when a man (Jay Duplass of Transparent) returns to his small town community after 20 years in prison.  Having been incarcerated since he was a teenager, he’s a bit emotionally stunted; he was a good kid who is now trying to be a good man.  He tries to negotiate his way among his not-so-supportive family, some former friends who share a secret and suspicious townspeople.

He’s free only because of a persistent campaign for justice by one of his high school teachers (Edie Falco).  The case has been an obsession for the teacher, much to annoyance of her blue-collar husband.  Now that the campaign has ended, the teacher must fill that vacuum with another passion.

There isn’t much passion in her marriage.  Shelton brilliantly depicts a husband who has expectations of their relationship and their future – he just doesn’t communicate them to his wife, or check to see if those expectations are shared.  He’s not a terrible person, and the relationship isn’t abusive – it’s just lapsed into staleness.

The freed convict and the teacher are comforted by each other.  There are several ways that this story could go, several of them trite.  Let’s just say that Shelton takes us in some unpredictable directions, while maintaining  authenticity.

Outside In is a story of self-discovery.  The teacher must assess what will make her happy and make some hard choices.  In a tour de force, Falco takes us through her confusion, dissatisfaction, longing, passion and, finally, determination.

Kaitlin Dever (Justified) is also excellent as the teacher’s teen daughter.  Outside In is an acting showcase for Falco, Duplass and Dever. Falco’s performance, however, is stunning.

I saw Outside In before its release at Silicon Valley’s Cinema Club.  It can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

SWORD OF TRUST: comedy, and so much more

by
Marc Maron (center) in SWORD OF TRUST

In Lynn Shelton’s brilliant comedy Sword of Trust, Mel (Marc Maron) runs a Birmingham, Alabama, pawnshop with his worthless Millennial assistant Nathaniel (Jon Bass – very funny). Cynthia (Jillian Bell) has returned to Alabama, with her partner Mary (Michaela Watkins), to claim an inheritance that disappointingly turns out to be a single antique sword. But the grandfather’s incoherent letter about the sword fits the Internet ravings of a White supremacist cult called the “Provers” (like “Truthers”), who are hunting for artifacts that “prove” that the Conderacy really won the Civil War. The four resolve to cash in an a windfall by dealing the sword to the scary underground racist cult. Comic situations, naturally, ensue.

There’s plenty of grist for comedy here, and Shelton bores in on the widespread absence of critical thinking that meshes with the Internet to give platforms to crackpot conspiracy theories. From Anti-vaxxers to Truthers, folks are now somehow comfortable with denying scientific or historical fact to fit a narrative that they prefer. In Sword of Trust, that idiocy ranges to denying the Union victory in the Civil War and even the roundness of the Earth.

Sword of Trust is very successful as a comedy, but there’s another, very emotionally powerful story in here. Mel’s ex Deirdre drops by the shop in an attempt to extract some cash for a modest ring. It’s clear that Deidre has had a toxic and near-ruinous impact on Mel’s life that he can’t – and perhaps won’t – escape. This story takes up less than ten minutes, essentially book-ending the sword comedy, but it’s the meat of Maron’s performance and the heartfelt core of the film.

Maron’s performance as Mel is a tour de force. When Mel first sees Diedre, he silently freezes for an instant and takes the long way around the shop to gather himself before reaching the counter. He listens to Deidre’s story with a knowing weariness in his eyes. When Deidre says “I’m good for it” and Mel replies, “No, you’re not”, it is with the quiet certainty of a man scarred. Later, Maron’s Mel relates his own back story, and it’s all the more heartbreaking because of his matter-of-factness. This is one of the best performances of the year.

Lynn Shelton in SWORD OF TRUST

And, Deidre, what a mess! The fidgety desperation just underneath her sad story du jour just nails the manipulative addict. I made a note to look up the actress playing Deidre with such compelling authenticity – and it is Lynn Shelton herself.

The entire cast is good, especially Dan Bakkedahl (Life in Pieces) as the White supremacist kingpin and prolific character actor Toby Huss as his henchman.

Sword of Trust is a very smart and funny comedy with a bonus – a rich and moving character study.

Stream of the Week: OUTSIDE IN: she finds herself finally ready

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Edie Falco in OUTSIDE IN

The fine Lynn Shelton drama Outside In begins when a man (Jay Duplass of Transparent) returns to his small town community after 20 years in prison.  Having been incarcerated since he was a teenager, he’s a bit emotionally stunted; he was a good kid who is now trying to be a good man.  He tries to negotiate his way among his not-so-supportive family, some former friends who share a secret and suspicious townspeople.

He’s free only because of a persistent campaign for justice by one of his high school teachers (Edie Falco).  The case has been an obsession for the teacher, much to annoyance of her blue-collar husband.  Now that the campaign has ended, the teacher must fill that vacuum with another passion.

There isn’t much passion in her marriage.  Shelton brilliantly depicts a husband who has expectations of their relationship and their future – he just doesn’t communicate them to his wife, or check to see if those expectations are shared.  He’s not a terrible person, and the relationship isn’t abusive – it’s just lapsed into staleness.

The freed convict and the teacher are comforted by each other.  There are several ways that this story could go, several of them trite.  Let’s just say that Shelton takes us in some unpredictable directions, while maintaining  authenticity.

Outside In is a story of self-discovery.  The teacher must assess what will make her happy and make some hard choices.  In a tour de force, Falco takes us through her confusion, dissatisfaction, longing, passion and, finally, determination.

Kaitlin Dever (Justified) is also excellent as the teacher’s teen daughter.  Outside In is an acting showcase for Falco, Duplass and Dever. Falco’s performance, however, is stunning.

I saw Outside In before its release at Silicon Valley’s Cinema Club.  It can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Touchy Feely: just watch the trailer instead

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Josh Pais and Rosemarie DeWitt in TOUCHY FEELY

OK, maybe I just shouldn’t keep expecting writer-director Lynn Shelton to make the first mumblecore movie that I will like.  Touchy Feely begins with a promising premise – a massage therapist (Rosemarie DeWitt)  suddenly develops an aversion to touching the human body, which understandably threatens both her career and her relationship with her boyfriend.  Unfortunately, Shelton takes both the premise and the excellent cast and crashes them into a crater of boredom.

Shelton made last year’s Your Sister’s Sister (also with DeWitt), which was really good for about 58 minutes, until it petered out in a senseless musical interlude and a montage of rainy bike riding.  In Touchy Feely, the massage therapist addresses her affliction by moping and yakking and encountering Ron Livingston and moping and yakking some more.  There’s a fun thread about her quirky uncle’s dental practice, but that’s entirely disconnected from the protagonist’s story.

DeWitt was exceptional in Your Sister’s Sister and uniformly excellent in Rachel Getting Married, Promised Land and Margaret – and Touchy Feely is not DeWitt’s fault.  The fine actors Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy (Argo), Alison Janney and Josh Pais are similarly wasted.

Now I tend to like character-driven, talky movies.  But I don’t like to watch self-involved twits obsess over their own avoidable, First World problems.  That pretty much describes the mumblecore genre, especially when the male characters have bedhead.  (This movie could have been even worse – the Gigli, Ishtar or Moment by Moment of mumblecore – had Greta Gerwig played Alison Janney’s role.)

There’s one really funny scene in Touchy Feely – where Alison Janney introduces the painfully awkward Josh Pais to Reiki.  Other than that, just watch the trailer – it’s much better than the movie and it will cost you less than three minutes of your remaining lifetime.

Touchy Feely is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming on Netflix Instant, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and XBOX Video.