Gazer

In a Smithereens-level Cannes-coup, this self-financed indie made on weekends over two years by complete unknowns in New Jersey scored a slot in last year's Directors' Fortnight. Gazer is an appealing little calling card made by collaborators Ryan J. Sloan, the director, co-writer, co-producer, and co-editor, and Ariella Mastroianni, the star and co-writer. Like many debut features, this is a neo-noir the pays homage to countless other films while trying to do just enough that's fresh and distinctive to get critical attention. Stylistically, it succeeds in making you sit up and take notice, but the film itself is not entirely satisfying.

Mastroianni plays Frankie, a young woman who has recently lost her husband to suicide. Her mother-in-law has custody of their daughter, in part because Frankie suffers from a debilitating neurological disorder called dyschronometria, a condition of cerebellar dysfunction in which an individual cannot accurately estimate the amount of time that has passed. To try to keeper herself grounded in the present moment, Frankie records cassette tapes reminding herself to stay on task, and she plays these audio dictations of her everyday experiences back to herself through a walkman. She also pays a lot of attention to her surroundings, often making up narratives about the people she sees. On one such occasion, after getting fired from yet another low-skill job, she witnesses through an apartment window what appears to be an act of violence involving a mysterious woman. Soon that woman is offering Frankie $3000 to sneak into that apartment window, get her keys, and steal her car for her. Needing the money for her daughter, Frankie accepts the job.

Shot on grainy anamorphic 16mm, Sloan and cinematographer Matheus Bastos keep the picture visually compelling. Even more captivating is Mastroianni, whose distinctive look and odd mannerisms makes Frankie an intriguing and unusual protagonist for this type of film. Gazer is effectively suspenseful for more than half it's running time, but the story runs out of gas just at the point where they mystery starts coming together. At nearly two hours, the picture starts to wear out its welcome as it builds to its unsatisfyingly open-ended conclusion.

The movie is filled with homages to many other films made in a similar style covering similar themes—voyeurism, the ways people perceive reality, how impressions and assumptions can transform into false memories, etc. The dyschronometria angle is fresh, and Sloan finds several sharp visual ways to convey how his main character experiences these gaps in time. However, this unique element also devolves into feeling like just a neo-noir trope. Once that happens, we stop investing in the story and start to focus only on the director's cinematic influences. Gazer is Memento by way of The Woman in the Window; Blow-Up and The Conversation by way of Thief and Red Rock West, shot like Sisters via The Long Goodbye. Oddly, the movie this reminded me of most was not a noir but George Romero's 1977 low-budget horror/character-study Martin. Frankie has a similar desperation and compulsive drive as Romero's titular young would-be vampire. Also like Martin, Frankie is haunted by visions, but these ill-advised dream/flashback sequences feel cribbed from early David Cronenberg rather than Romero.

Gazer makes you pay attention to its star and its director, which is rewarding on several levels. Still, this is a work of style over substance. The fact that such a simple story requires the use of both voice over narration and audio recordings made by the main character is illustratritive of the many ways this movie works too hard for its own good.