Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: June 9th, 2023 / 03:45 AM

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ezra Buzzington, Kristina Klebe
Writer: Ted Geoghegan
Director: Ted Geoghegan
Distributor: Shudder/AMC+
Release Date: June 9, 2023

Much of BROOKLYN 45 rolls out as though it could be a stage play. Most of it occurs on a single albeit large set. It also has what is more a theatrical than a film convention, a group of middle-aged friends coming together for what’s meant to be a friendly social gathering that becomes an exploration of ethics, duty, responsibility, guilt, and a lot more.

But then there’s the supernatural aspect. Sure, those effects are doable on stage, but it’s hard to imagine how they’d match the impact of certain close-ups.

A supertitle tells us we’re in Brooklyn, New York, on December 27, 1945. World War II has just ended, and a few of its veterans are having what at first seems like a little post-Christmas celebration.

Marla (Anne Ramsay) Sheridan and her husband Bob (Ron E. Rains) are outside the brownstone of their friend U.S. Army Col. Clive “Hock” Hockstatter (Larry Fessenden).

Marla walks with a slight limp and a cane, a result of her wartime injuries. She was a skilled interrogator for the U.S. military, getting information out of German prisoners of war in Berlin. Her nickname is still “Marla the Merciless.” Bob didn’t see any action; he’s still working as a clerk for the Pentagon in D.C.

They are joined outside by Major Archibald Stanton (Jeremy Holm), who Marla calls her best friend and who Bob detests. Archie (we learn before they’ve even gone inside) is accused of war crimes. Marla is positive he’s innocent; Bob is certain he’s not.

In Hock’s living room, we meet the man himself, along with his best friend and loyal compatriot, Major Paul DiFranco (Ezra Buzzington). Both Paul and Archie served with Hock, and he holds them and Marla in great esteem.

We quickly find out nobody expects this to be an easy evening. Hock has suffered a deep personal tragedy, and his friends are all here to support him in this difficult time.

But Hock has a surprise for them – a big one, although it won’t be the last. In the six weeks since losing his wife, Hock has gone from churchgoing Christian to bitter atheist to hopeful spiritualist. He wants his decidedly disbelieving pals to join him in a séance, to attempt to communicate with Hock’s late spouse.

The twists pile on from here. Writer/director Ted Geoghegan makes them all fit together well, so that we’re continually surprised without ever feeling that the story is meandering or cheating.

Geoghegan also creates a great sense of period. The set and costumes are perfect, as are the songs that the radio keeps spontaneously blurting out. Geoghegan has directed his cast to play things a bit as if they were in a ‘40s film: not over the top, but with the sort of accents and pauses and declamations that we associate with movies from that era. There is the occasional anachronistic note (such as when someone says, “I’m not in a good place”), but mostly, the dialogue is on point as well.

Ramsay makes Marla fully rounded, wise, compassionate, and steel-spined. Rains is deft as her alternately proud and jealous spouse. Fessenden makes Hock someone who is used to being in charge and doesn’t know what to do with his vulnerability. Buzzington and Holm are both adept at conveying their characters’ levels of stress and aggression.

BROOKLYN 45 reveals the era it’s really made in largely by the level of gore that punctuates the action. It’s not that it’s more gruesome than what we see in all-out horror films, but in this context, it packs a stronger punch. We also get stronger language than we’d hear in the days of the Hays Code.

But the issues at the heart of BROOKLYN 45 are timeless. Geoghegan has made a movie that succeeds on multiple levels. It winds up seeming something like a lost feature-length episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, which may be the intention.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45

An effective combination of theatrical-style drama and gory horror

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45

An effective combination of theatrical-style drama and gory horror

Article Source: Assignment X Article: Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45