"Less" is more with solid, strong characters

Posted November 21, 2011 at 8:03am

"Less" (2010)
78 mins
B+

http://www.lessmovie.com/
 
 "Less" is one of those smart scripts that plays out nice and steady, not giving away to much to fast, keeping viewers interested in the characters. This starts off with a very simple scene, when a man starts to photograph a homeless person named Finn.
The man recognizes Finn and says, "You should let people know you are alive." Finn responds with a simple piece of dialouge that makes you wonder about his past, replying, "I prefer not to."
Its the dialouge that keeps this movie floating, with his brilliantly realized characters who could have been simple caricatures, but come across as real people living this surreal life.
"I remember the way time passed," Finn says in a voice over. "There was a softness to it. An eloquence to time like it was just washing by. If I could live in each moment I could find beauty in anything."
Actor Zak Barnett's delivery of his lines as Finn are spot on and pull you in, along with the movie's use of soft, natural lighting.
The story of, 'Less" asks, "Could the fastest route to enlightenment be straight into the gutter?" according to its synopsis. "In 'Less' we see the world through the eyes of an atypical homeless man, in an unusual pursuit of freedom,"
As the story unfolds you see the life Finn left behind and as the tale builds you genuinely wonder and want to know what drove him to disappear from the "real" world and start living on the streets.
 
After firmly establishing Finn's personality in a few short minutes we are introduced to Mia. From here the movie plays out as a wonderfully weird romantic dramedy focusing on these two quirky characters.
 
The first moments of the two coming together is done with Finn simply finding a Polaroid camera and snapping photos. At one point he snaps a photo of himself and hangs it up, marking it, "Invisible." Later Mia writes a note below it, and Finn smiles when he reads her addition to the photograph, reading, "You are not."
 
It is a tiny, sweet moment that made me immediately start pulling for these two to get together.
 
But again it is the dialouge, and Barnett's delivery. Barnett also co-wrote and co-directed the movie and the reason I think this movie works so well is because he knows his character perfectly. In a movie that could have been sappy, he delivers lines spot on.
 
Barnett's delivery is perfectly complimented by Rebecca Noon as Mia. Barnett and Noon bring to life these wonderfully quirky characters, who could have very easily been cardboard caricatures, but the two leads introduce a truthfullness that make the characters seem real.
 
The characters are not perfect, but that is why you like them.And with a movie that deals with the main character being homeless, you need to like the characters to keeppeople interested.
 
As Mia and Finn grow closer, the story plays out, delivering little nuggetts about Finn's past and why he is the way he is. But there is an under current of darkness, that makes you wonder what is wrong with Finn. He sleeps with Mia and he should be happy, but instead they have an exchange of ominous dialouge.
 
FINN: "What if we had less in common than you thought? Like if we had nothing in common?"
MIA: "Then you would just be like everyone else."
 
It is a bittersweet moment, that Noon plays with such tenderness you want to know her past and why she feels that way. And again, a lesser actor would have made it feel flat and melodrmatic.
 
The two leads make the movie work, building on a wonderful script that may have wonderful dialouge, but know when the let actions speak. The simple gestures made in this movie speak volumes about the lives they lead.
 
For instance, Finn sleeps in the bed with Mia, but eventually makes his way to the floor, to the ground, to the life he knows and is now comfortable with.
 
And when Mia tries to make him breakfast, Finn instead flips out, racing out the door, refusing the meal she offered in favor of digging through the garbage to find anything salvagable to eat.
 
The combination of the romantic elements and the statement of Finn's lifestyle come into question, because early on you think Finn loves how he is living his new life, free and able to just enjoy life.
 
The life he left behind made him free, giving up bills and responsibility and the luxury of life. And early on he makes it sound like an idealistic lifestyle. But the more you know Finn the more you question his life choices.
 
"Each thing I gave away made me feel lighter," Finn says. "But then there came a time I didn't have anything else to give away."
 
In the end the movie is a great study in characters and perfect plotting, spreading out details little by little to keep viewers engaged and entertained.