Usually, for a film critic (especially for a rank amateur like yours truly), it's difficult to keep personal biases at bay when you're reviewing a film whose contents you have a personal or historical investment in. Sometimes one may have problems staying partial because the story's an adaptation of a favorite book or previous movie. The movie might star an actor that one might be a huge fan of (or, by contrast, a huge detractor of), causing ample distraction while trying to watch the film as a whole.
Another issue might be the film taking place in one's hometown or adopted town. As the cliched (yet resoundingly true) saying goes, home is where the heart is, and any city ranging from New York to Fresno can be as big a character as any flesh-and-blood actor. Thus, the portrayal of such is just as important as any other portrayal found within.
Though I was raised in a suburb sixteen miles away, Minneapolis, Minnesota has been my home for the last two years, and I rapidly grew to love the cultural, aesthetic, and historical importance of the city and its various idiosyncrasies. Though I've seen plenty of Hollywood movies set in the Mini-Apple years before moving here (such as Fargo, Untamed Heart, and, yes, The Mighty Ducks), to see various landmarks on the big screen that I've personally experienced as a resident added an ample amount of SQUEEE-worthy hometown pride to my viewing experience.
In director Brady Kiernan's independent drama Stuck Between Stations, I was indeed beaming with that very pride while observing a cinematic tour of the City of Lakes, a broad, beautiful backdrop for an engaging story about two kindred spirits reunited by chance.
Casper (Sam Rosen) is an active-duty soldier recently put on bereavement leave to attend his father's funeral in Minneapolis. On his last night in town before being redeployed, Casper runs into graduate student Becky (Zoe Lister-Jones), a former high school classmate that he hadn't seen since graduation.
Becky's dealing with her own personal struggles, in the form of a regrettable affair she's been carrying on and recently ended with her married college professor David (Michael Imperioli). Receiving threatening phone calls from David's wife (Nadia Dajani)-- who's also a professor in Becky's graduate program-- Becky's been worried about her academic and professional future and the ramifications her actions may have had.
After an unconventional reunion at a nightclub, Casper and Becky spontaneously decide to take a late-night tour of Minneapolis-- ranging from bars and punk rock circuses to house parties and public access television stations-- and all the while reconnect with each other, revealing their hopes, fears, and secrets little by little, before Sam leaves for Afghanistan the next morning.
The first impression I got from Stuck Between Stations was its striking thematic similarities to Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise: a minimalist, dialogue-heavy story about two people who meet in a picturesque city, spend the night getting to know each other, and then go their separate ways.
But rather than seeing Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply traipsing around Vienna and its various landmarks, we're treated to a charming Sam Rosen (who co-wrote the script) and Zoe Lister-Jones taking the scenic route in various Minneapolis landmarks, hipster enclaves, the University of Minnesota campus, and plenty of other name-droppable locations that'll eagerly put a smile on any Minneapolitan's face (including yours truly).
The story itself is simple enough, and lends most of its focus to Casper and Becky's awkward reunion and natural chemistry. The relationship between the previously estranged acquaintances is portrayed realistically and never in a pretentious, "meet-cute" fashion. Rosen possesses a mischievous sparkle in his eyes that belie an inner numbness towards the horrors he's faced and must face again after his leave is over. Lister-Jones likewise shares her compatriot's struggle with finding her place in an increasingly turbulent world, and her late-in-the-game revelation regarding her outlook on life is rather heartbreaking.
Not everything is perfect with Stations, however. The usage of split-screen editing borders on over-usage at times, and the subplot with Michael Imperioli feels like a somewhat superfluous attempt to add a "name" actor to the proceedings. Luckily, we already have a better use of such a tactic with Minneapolis native Josh Hartnett's funny extended cameo as Sam's anarchist friend-rival, and to be honest, the need for established Hollywood stars is almost unnecessary considering the magnetism of the two lead actors.
The cinematography by Bo Hakala is absolutely marvelous, capturing the beauty of the city with a less-is-more approach. Simple stationary shots of First Avenue, the Walker Art Center, or the University's West Bank bridge speak volumes. Grant Cutler's low-key score grounds the film's emotional ambiance, and the filmmakers do right to shine a light on the creative weirdness and unique sensibilities that Minneapolis proudly embraces as its own.
A veritable love letter to Minneapolis, Stuck Between Stations successfully manages to evade a "hipster indie" label that outsiders might unfairly apply to it at first glance, but rather proves itself an intimate, well-executed, and warm celebration of a city's roots and the mutual coming of age of two disparate people who find common ground in the spirit of the times.
Letter Grade: "B+"
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