Just got in yesterday and finished watching it about an hour ago.
Better than I thought.
First off, this is a bare-bones independent production and it won't be for everyone. For the film buffs out there, think Cassavetes, Larry Clark, early Scorsese, and early Altman. It's rough, gritty, murky, but still contains some impressive low-key cinematography that recalls Scosese's "Mean Streets." Characters are often covered in shadows, backlit by neon infused cigarette smoke and thin shafts of yellow light knifing in from the outside. Nilsson and his cinematographer obviously love Film Noir, and its influence shows in virtually every frame. This "darkness" is the intended style rather than the limitations of shooting on tape. Nilsson wants a claustrophobic atmosphere, and it is indeed suffocating, but it also symbolically underscores the world these people live in.
The story concerns a young Korean pool player named T.C., who was adopted by a black hustler named Watson after he walked into Watson's pool hall one day as a kid and never left. Watson has another son named Jones, who seems to be in constant conflict with T.C., but is also trying to set up a big money match with a ranking pro, a psycho named Dorian James.
The heart of the film deals with T.C.'s dream to leave behind the cheap hustles and small stakes of hole-in-the-wall pool rooms and become a "real" player; but it also deals with his need to prove himself to his father. One key exchange has T.C. telling his father, "I ain't no money player? What have I been doing here the last 20 years?" To which Watson replies, "Taking candy from babies."
The pool world is very different in this film. It's not mythical and romantic like in "The Hustler" or glamorized like in "TCOM." These characters seem tortured by the game, especially T.C. who desperately wants to reach the next level, but might lack the necessary confidence and nerve to do so. His character is counterpointed by Dorian James, a pro who has achieved what T.C. wants, but doesn't seem to be any better off. There's also another pro player, played by a real life roadman named Chris MacDonald, who laments about the struggles of being a pool player. It's easy to read this film as an indictment of the game, the players, and the pool world at large. However, that's not Nilsson's intention.
To call this film a "cautionary tale" would be a gross misinterpretation. Yes, there's Dorian James, a troubled man who happens to be a great player, but he is hardly the center of the story, and there's no indication that the "pool world" contributed to his state of mind. Essentially, it's a tragic portrait of people who have a burning need to actualize their talent and reach their potential, but can't figure out how. Yet, either out of delusion or habit, they choose to sacrifice a life outside of the pool room and continue doing the only thing they know how to do, doomed to live out an unrecognized existence beneath shadows, smoke, and neon, dreaming of what could've been.
Better than I thought.
First off, this is a bare-bones independent production and it won't be for everyone. For the film buffs out there, think Cassavetes, Larry Clark, early Scorsese, and early Altman. It's rough, gritty, murky, but still contains some impressive low-key cinematography that recalls Scosese's "Mean Streets." Characters are often covered in shadows, backlit by neon infused cigarette smoke and thin shafts of yellow light knifing in from the outside. Nilsson and his cinematographer obviously love Film Noir, and its influence shows in virtually every frame. This "darkness" is the intended style rather than the limitations of shooting on tape. Nilsson wants a claustrophobic atmosphere, and it is indeed suffocating, but it also symbolically underscores the world these people live in.
The story concerns a young Korean pool player named T.C., who was adopted by a black hustler named Watson after he walked into Watson's pool hall one day as a kid and never left. Watson has another son named Jones, who seems to be in constant conflict with T.C., but is also trying to set up a big money match with a ranking pro, a psycho named Dorian James.
The heart of the film deals with T.C.'s dream to leave behind the cheap hustles and small stakes of hole-in-the-wall pool rooms and become a "real" player; but it also deals with his need to prove himself to his father. One key exchange has T.C. telling his father, "I ain't no money player? What have I been doing here the last 20 years?" To which Watson replies, "Taking candy from babies."
The pool world is very different in this film. It's not mythical and romantic like in "The Hustler" or glamorized like in "TCOM." These characters seem tortured by the game, especially T.C. who desperately wants to reach the next level, but might lack the necessary confidence and nerve to do so. His character is counterpointed by Dorian James, a pro who has achieved what T.C. wants, but doesn't seem to be any better off. There's also another pro player, played by a real life roadman named Chris MacDonald, who laments about the struggles of being a pool player. It's easy to read this film as an indictment of the game, the players, and the pool world at large. However, that's not Nilsson's intention.
To call this film a "cautionary tale" would be a gross misinterpretation. Yes, there's Dorian James, a troubled man who happens to be a great player, but he is hardly the center of the story, and there's no indication that the "pool world" contributed to his state of mind. Essentially, it's a tragic portrait of people who have a burning need to actualize their talent and reach their potential, but can't figure out how. Yet, either out of delusion or habit, they choose to sacrifice a life outside of the pool room and continue doing the only thing they know how to do, doomed to live out an unrecognized existence beneath shadows, smoke, and neon, dreaming of what could've been.
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but your review has made me want to see the movie one time. Can you make me a copy? or can anyone else? Help... 
