Choose Connor (a.k.a. The Politician)

TheCentralScrutinizer · 26 Jan 09 :: 05:47

It seriously did.

Don't forget to stop by you know where while you're on the MB...

CappuGirl · 26 Jan 09 :: 08:18

I'd love to see this movie. If anyone ever comes up with a regionfree-version, please send it to me.... I'll pay!

TheCentralScrutinizer · 29 Jan 09 :: 05:25

Hi Luke,
I felt compelled to drop you a note and tell you how moved I was by your film. I watched it on DVD last weekend and I still can't get it out of my head. It's really powerful. The script, particularly the dialog, impressed the hell out of me. As someone who struggled for 18 years to break in as a screenwriter, I just really think it's a very special piece of work.
I'm one of the Marquette web gals, so I mainly watched it because of Chris. But I also like Mr. Weber quite a lot. And I've always been intrigued by what I've read about the stories you've told on film and wished like hell that I could see them. Choose Connor had so much going for it in terms of talent. And I think it's absolutely wonderful. You got exceptional performances from everyone. Chris's scene was so impactful that I actually had to pause the movie for a few minutes and take a breather!
Just wanted you to know that I'm so glad to have finally gotten to experience the movie. You kinda knocked my socks off. I can't wait to see more from you!
Best,
Deb

Hey Deb - thanks so much for your note - I'm pleased that you like the movie. Thanks for making the effort to see it, and I really appreciate your kind comments.
I hope you're well.
Peace,
Luke

I urge everyone to find a way to see it if you can. And don't just watch casually as you wait for Chris to show up. Pay attention to the story. Listen to the dialog. And remember, Luke was not even a legal adult yet when he wrote this. Hell, he was barely one when he directed it and edited it himself as well. This guy is a no-shit serious talent.

domesticelefant · 29 Jan 09 :: 14:47

I'll watch it as soon as the DVD arrives here. It would be great if it would come while I am still certified sick, because now I'd have the time to watch it. *sigh* I know Tina will send it to me as soon as she can.

TeeJay · 29 Jan 09 :: 14:53

It would be great if it would come while I am still certified sick

It won't. Chances are, I won't get it for another three or four weeks. The initial DVD seems to have gotten lost in the mail, and the guys from the online store said we need to wait 28 days from initial shipping date before the DVD can be officially declared lost. That's some time next week, I think. After that I'm curious what they'll offer me. But whatever happens then, it'll be another new shipping process and it'll take at least another two weeks from there before I get the DVD. I'm kinda pissed about that, to the extent that I dreamed about it this morning. I pre-ordered the DVD in December to make sure I had it near the release date. Looks like I might finally have a month after the release. Being a Chris fan in Germany can be majorly frustrating.

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 29 Jan 09 :: 15:10

Yeah, it's not that I counted on that. Seeing it while I am still certified sick, I mean. I just said it would be great. But I'm not going to be mad at you if it won't work out.

TeeJay wrote:

Being a Chris fan in Germany can be majorly frustrating.

I know.
(Kind of OT: And being a Twilight fan in the Stuttgart area, too. The movie is still not available at my theatre. This sucks!)

Editsound · 29 Jan 09 :: 22:31

Deb, I am really happy that you enjoyed the movie so much. It is always great when a movie affects someone so deeply. That is the magic of it all.

TheCentralScrutinizer · 29 Jan 09 :: 22:58

Yeah, when something is so powerful at such a basic level, I don't need it to be flashy. This movie didn't need any flash. It had plenty of story to go around.

BiggestChrisMarquetteFan · 30 Jan 09 :: 05:02

TeeJay wrote:

It would be great if it would come while I am still certified sick
It won't. Chances are, I won't get it for another three or four weeks. The initial DVD seems to have gotten lost in the mail, and the guys from the online store said we need to wait 28 days from initial shipping date before the DVD can be officially declared lost. That's some time next week, I think. After that I'm curious what they'll offer me. But whatever happens then, it'll be another new shipping process and it'll take at least another two weeks from there before I get the DVD.
-TeeJay

I'm sorry, TJ. That's happened to me once. It's soo frustrating!

larry-411 · 30 Jan 09 :: 23:29

I'm so glad you guys are finally getting to see this film! And are having similar reactions to it that I had when I first saw it in the fall of 2007. I can't believe it's been that long! I saw it again in the spring of 2008 and it was just as powerful, even though I knew all the "secrets."

I couldn't stop talking about it each time I saw it. I spent over an hour with Luke and his producers after each screening and I just went on and on about it. I couldn't wait for people to start seeing it. This is such a relief to me, in a way, to know that people are finally being impacted emotionally the way I was. I remember feeling the same way after Alpha Dog finally came out long after I'd seen and reviewed it.

Just as a reminder -- Mike's deleted scenes are on the DVD, as far as I know. I've been away for the last couple of weeks and didn't even get it myself yet (it's waiting for me at the post office) but I believe they're on it. Please let me know if they are (or not). I saw them about a year ago so I know what should be on it.

TeeJay · 30 Jan 09 :: 23:31

HALLELUJAH! E-mail from axelmusic.com:

Due to a fairly complicated customs problem, thousands of our packages were held up for weeks without our company being notified by our freight forwarder. Needless to say, we shall no longer be using the freight forwarder in question! However, after being persistent in chasing the cause of the problem ourselves, we can finally report that we have immediately paid all due customs charges thereby solving the problem and the shipments should all arrive within the coming week (February 2nd - 7th).

They even managed to make me proud:

We have now taken a few steps to avoid this kind of problem in the future. We have revamped the shipping policy from the warehouse in question and we will now solely use Deutsche Post for our international shipping from our New York warehouse. Deutsche Post has been the most consistent postal service when shipping to European customers.

Good old German reliability prevails!

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 30 Jan 09 :: 23:36

There are no extras. Unless they're very well hidden.

TeeJay · 31 Jan 09 :: 00:03

Looks like these are the only special features on the DVD:

Features:
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trailers from Other Films by Strand Releasing
source: http://www.hidefdvd.com/i/dvd/STDV2812DVD.htm

That's so disappointing, is there any way we can get to see Michael's scenes if not on the DVD?

-TeeJay

larry-411 · 31 Jan 09 :: 02:30

Well that sure sucks. I was hoping that wasn't the case. The last time I discussed it with Luke they were going to be on there.

PM me for info.

BiggestChrisMarquetteFan · 31 Jan 09 :: 09:39

That sucks there's like no extras. = (

domesticelefant · 31 Jan 09 :: 15:25

That sucks pretty much that Mike's scenes are not on the DVD. I wanna see them!

TeeJay · 03 Feb 09 :: 18:55

I received both the HOTG and the Choose Connor DVD today. Yessss! Most likely I won't have time to watch either movie tonight, but they're at the top of my to-watch list. I can also attest that the Choose Connor DVD I received doesn't have anything on it other than the movie and trailers--no extras at all.

-TeeJay

domesticelefant · 03 Feb 09 :: 19:51

That's great that the DVDs are finally there. I can't wait to see them either.

BiggestChrisMarquetteFan · 04 Feb 09 :: 05:31

I can't wait to read your review of Choose Connor, TJ.

domesticelefant · 07 Feb 09 :: 13:53

Oh, by the way, I saw the movie yesterday. '(Thank you, Tina! ) Watched it almost right after the DVD arrived in the building.
I'll keep it short for now, since I have no time at the moment. But what I can tell so far is that I had one of those "Woah!"-Moments when I watched it ... it's a really great piece of work. You can see the talent behind the movie. Maybe I'll write a little more later, I need to finish with my apartment.

larry-411 · 07 Feb 09 :: 23:03

Samsy-Marie wrote:

what I can tell so far is that I had one of those "Woah!"-Moments when I watched it ... it's a really great piece of work.

That's one of the things I loved most about the movie. In fact, it's one of the main reasons I watch movies -- for those "whoa" moments.

Unfortunately, it's those "whoa" moments which make it so hard for me to write reviews for some of my favorite movies -- the ultimate irony -- since they cannot be revealed without posting spoilers, and I'm such a stickler for not doing that. In fact, some movies are so dependent on those "whoa" moments that it's hard to say anything at all. It's the main reason I never really wrote a review for Choose Connor.

TeeJay · 13 Feb 09 :: 12:46

This will contain spoilers, so read on at your own discretion.

I've watched the movie now too, and I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. Like Larry, I try not to know too much about a movie before I watch it, but with Chris-related movies that doesn't always work out, which is just the nature of things when you run a Chris fansite. Hearing people speak so highly of the movie, somehow while I was watching it, I was waiting for the greatness to surface. And somehow that greatness was never revealed to me.

No doubt, the script is very clever and it has a lot of outstanding moments. Chris's scene is gut-wrenching in the most intense way. Made me go hot and cold with anguish. I knew before I watched the movie that it was about politicians involved in lewd conduct. And somehow I can't shake the feeling that I would have "enjoyed" the movie more if I hadn't known that. It took away the surprise moment (= Chris's scene) and it made me constantly question whether Larry Connor had actually made advances on Owen or not. It made me pay less attention to other details that might have been more important.

But I think what bothered me most was Escher Holloway. I don't know the guy, I've not seen him in anything else, so I can't tell if how he played Caleb was intentional or not, but I know that I didn't like it. I can't even really say why, it just felt awkward watching him. Maybe Escher and/or Luke intended for it to be that way--if so, I guess it worked.

I know nothing about the art of filmmaking and editing a movie, so all of this is just my gut feelings. Having said that, a lot of the cuts in the movie bothered me. Again, I can't put my finger on it as to why, but it just didn't feel right. I especially noticed this during the scenes where you hear dialogue but see something different on the screen. I know it was done on purpose, and maybe others consider it a genius filmmaking tool, but it had an unfavorable effect on me.

I also didn't like the ending. Was it even an ending? It felt like the movie cut off way too early. I get it that a film doesn't always need full closure at the end to work, but there wasn't even a hint at closure here. It could very well be that all this was intentional, and that all this is what makes the movie original and smart, which was somehow lost on me.

These are mostly negative impressions, so let me underline that I didn't think it was a bad or boring movie or that it's not worth watching. It certainly is, and to a certain degree, I enjoyed seeing it. It's very intense, mostly not in a good but in a necessary way for the movie to work. It leaves you with a bitter aftertaste in our mouth, but I believe that's exactly what Luke tried to accomplish. What I'm taking away from it is that all that glitters is not gold, and that you should try your best stand up for what's right, even if that's farthest from the path of least resistance.

Two completely useless random things I noticed. 1) They used a song of a band I like very much: Dispatch. Good choice, Luke. 2) Owen quoted a Mahatma Ghandi statement (Be the change you want to see in the world.), which played a significant role in one of the my favorite Michael/Sara moments on Prison Break. It's a beautiful quote too.

On a side note, I think it's pretty pointless to try to make Chris screencaps for the site. His scene is something video-taped that plays back on a TV which is being filmed. It's very grainy and blurry. I'm not sure whether I wanna make a vidcap of it either, because if you haven't seen the movie, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and if you haven't seen the movie and still want to see it, it'll ruin the surprise moment.

-TeeJay

TheCentralScrutinizer · 13 Feb 09 :: 16:34

The fact that there was no resolution at the end, said to me that you can't stop this sort of conduct in corridors of power. And idealism is seldom rewarded. It's not a perfect movie, but I think it comes together very well and there is definitely greatness in it. Some of the scenes, some of the dialog are just amazing, and surprising and powerful. I don't know, maybe you have to be an American political junkie like me to really appreciate it.

larry-411 · 13 Feb 09 :: 22:03

Excellent writeup, TeeJay. Now you can see why I haven't written much about the movie.

TeeJay wrote:

I knew before I watched the movie that it was about politicians involved in lewd conduct. And somehow I can't shake the feeling that I would have "enjoyed" the movie more if I hadn't known that.

Exactly. That says it all right there. It's like knowing the ending at the start of The Sixth Sense. Once you know that you can never experience the movie and get the impact of it that you would have if you hadn't known it.

So much of the nuance in the movie rests on not knowing that going in. As you said, you focused less on the small things in the relationships between the characters and, to me, that is where the movie truly shines.

Just some feedback on your thoughts:

Holloway's Caleb was supposed to make the viewer very nervous. It was the awkwardness you felt in watching him which Luke actually intended. It's the essence of sexual tension and homoeroticism -- we never quite know what he's about or what he wants. The idea is that it places you in the shoes of Owen -- he isn't sure what anyone's intentions are. Luke holds back and tries to make Connor's and Caleb's advances as subtle as possible. It's not until near the end of the movie when all is revealed.

I don't remember having a problem with the editing but I guess that's something so individual -- it's based on what films you've seen and liked. Technique is pure opinion so I can't argue with that.

One thing Luke talked about extensively at the Q&As was the ending. Yes, he meant it to be somewhat ambiguous. What is Owen running away from? Where is he going? What will he do next? In a Hollywood movie we would have another scene. But he wanted to leave it to the viewer to decide.

TheCentralScrutinizer wrote:

The fact that there was no resolution at the end, said to me that you can't stop this sort of conduct in corridors of power. And idealism is seldom rewarded.

You got it 100%. That's precisely what Luke said.

How can he go to the authorities when they, themselves, are part of the deal? And so is the local media. Who could he "tell?" Does he just decide to forget about it?

Or maybe in a few years he decides to write a script about it and make a movie.

Last edited by larry-411 (13 Feb 09 :: 22:06)

TheCentralScrutinizer · 13 Feb 09 :: 22:29

I would also disagree that knowing what the movie is "about" going in ruins it. It might take a bit of the element of surprise out of it, but it doesn't ruin it. I knew. Perhaps more than most because as a media-addicted political junkie, there are very few scandals I haven't read at least a bit about. Some of the stuff I've read would stun the most cynical people. I had no idea how it was going to play out in the movie because I think almost all the decriptions of the story are beautifully coy about it. So I just sat back and let the movie happen to me. Let it unfold however it was going to unfold, without thinking too much about where it was going. And I found the relationships fascinating. It never bothered me that you couldn't really nail down Caleb's motives, or really even who he was. And I had absolutely no problem with the ending. Afterward, I just couldn't get some of the scenes and dialog out of my head. Still can't.

That's why I had to email Luke a couple of days after I saw it and tell him how much I loved it. I also posted a comment to Steven Weber's latest Huffington post blog yesterday to tell him and all his readers what a great little film I think it is.

Oh, and I emailed Chris about it too.

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