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   Final Film Critique: 
   Purple Pastures

   Director:
Jacob Waxler
   Production Company: Alias Films
   Expected Rating: R due to profanity &
                               real world discussions
   Distribution: No Exclusive Distribution

   Budget: $25,000

   Genre: Drama

   Release Dates: May 29, 2005

   Website: http://www.purplepastures.us
   Trailer: Windows format / Quicktime Format
   Review Date: October 15, 2005
   Reviewed By: Jeremy Hanke
Final Score:
8.6
How do we critique films? Click Here To See.

The sun sinks past the horizon and the moon rises.

After a long night, a posh restaurant in New York City closes it's bar and shuts it's doors. The only people who remain are three of its bartenders who've decided to get sloshed after work, two porters who have to clean the bars and scrub the dishes, and the owner of the restaurant who's sharing a drink with an old friend and fellow restaurateur in the VIP lounge above it. (Even the setup sounds like the beginning of a play, doesn't it? Well, the theatrical comparison is only beginning!)

Thus opens Jacob Waxler's new feature length film, Purple Pastures. The name is a play on the old saying about the grass always being greener on the other side. An old proverb from America's dairy days that described the desire of cows to feed on the grass on the other side of the fence they happen to be on, as though that grass is somehow greener and more delicious. The proverb reminds us that all grass is more or less the same...the only thing that changes is our perception of it.

The HD format does a nice job of
portraying the rich colors...
...and stretching vistas in Waxler's
slice of life, after-hours film.

Content
The storyline of the film is that of following a half dozen characters as they explore their lives in various spheres of reality.
(Actually there are eight characters, but only six of them are the main characters of the film.)

The two porters, Peter and Clayton, represent the most basic level of existence in a place like New York City. They are both immigrants from Jamaica--Peter speaks English but not French and Clayton speaks French but not English. We get into Peter's head because he keeps babbling about his thoughts to his uncomprehending companion. He is one of the people who is least confused about the truth of the greener grass. (Proving that you can be a loudmouth and still be paying attention to the world around you!)

Next we have three bartenders, who represent the middle sphere of existence--not wealthy, but bartending in a wealthy restaurant assures that they're not going broke, either. Everrett's a contemplative actor that quietly observes people and the world around him. Whereas, the other two, Kyle and Cody, are your pessimistic 'realists'--who blandly wish they had more money, but sheepishly admit that they have nothing more to do with such money than simply stare at walls. They would rather not hope for anything and never get hurt by reality than to hope and have their hopes dashed. Everrett thinks this is a depressing way to live life and one that is rooted in fear.

Finally we have the two restaurateurs, Catherine--who owns this restaurant--and Jackson--her colleague who owns three other restaurants in the city--who represent the highest sphere of existence in the New York City society of the film.. They're successful and wealthy and have everything society says they should want, yet there success is at the cost of their health and their beliefs. They wish they could get away from it all, but they are addicted to the challenge too much to ever walk away. Both have given up on their greatest dreams and, somehow, fallen into a rut of living in which they aren't any happier than anyone else.

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