Los Angeles Overnight

Greetings again from the darkness. Low budget independents must be analyzed differently than a tentpole or a status-pic with money behind it. That's only fair, and in fact, quite necessary for cinematic sanity. This first feature film from director Michael Chrisoulakis is one that we might catch at a film festival, and at first glance, it appears he has done everything right. The film has a blend of familiar faces and newcomers. Much effort has gone into the stylish look of the film, and there is even unconventional music accompanying the oddball characters.

Sometimes taking all the right steps still doesn't mean the finished product will click with audiences, and that appears to be the case here. Priscilla (Arielle Brachfeld) is being treated by her hypnotherapist played by legendary director Peter Bogdanovich in a terrific opening that grabs our attention immediately. Priscilla is a struggling/aspiring actress who is also a Marilyn Monroe waitress at a crummy little diner.

Benny (Azim Rizk) is one of the diners few customers, and his motivation is less about food and more about Priscilla. One day she overhears a couple of small time crooks (led by Lin Shaye) chatting in riddles - "Apple Jacks down the rabbit hole". Financially strapped Priscilla proceeds to draw lovestruck mechanic Benny into a situation that will likely end badly.

Writer Guy J Jackson (who also plays one of the criminals) seems to try and shove all of his ideas into the script, so what's lacking is a cohesive story or any chance for viewers to connect to Priscilla - or certainly any other character. We can't even take the "big" crime boss seriously since his goal is to build some type of sanctuary that will benefit humanity. Benny does have the best line in the film when he admits, "I dance like a mechanic". Other comedic bits mostly fall flat (although a tip of the cap for the mortgage broker joke), as do most of the attempts at building suspense, due in part to an excess of groan-inducing dialogue.

The film is a noir-wannabe with some effort given towards the atmosphere and tone, but the overwrought electronic score is too generic, and the arbitrary slow-motion effects simply remind us of the lack of budget (better to take advantage of imagination). One of the worst cinematic on-foot chase scenes takes up a chunk of the film, but on the bright side, we do get the rarely seen Sally Kirkland, and it is fun to pick out the director's influences based on how a scene plays out. The jury is still out on Ms. Brachfeld. She might be worth keeping an eye on, as she has a Miranda July quality about her, though without the comedic instincts. First films are challenging, and there might be enough here to push Mr. Chrisoulakis on to better projects.

This indie film is weird, intense and unusual. It definitely fits into the dark noir category. Starts out as the simple story of an aspiring actress just trying to make ends meet and blossoms into an off-beat kind of crime story thriller. The characters are quirky and unusual. The protagonist, Priscilla, is played by Arielle Brachfeld. She plays an aspiring actress who will literally stop at nothing to get ahead. The casting director, Elsa, is a rude, brutally offensive character and is well played by JamieLee Ackerman. This movie definitely has the right ingredients to become a cult film.

I was fortunate to get access from the UK to this film. It is quirky and romantic but also dark and eventually bloody!! Really refreshing new film that I have shared with friends with similar resulting pleasure. A little likeness to the excellent Breaking Bad with it's villians and twists. Go see it!!

The guy who directed this movie worked most recently in the CASTING DEPARTMENT for Hell's Kitchen. You did not mis-read. I said Casting Department.

Just gos to show you that Hollywood is truly Hollyweird.

The movie is pretentious and I think Bogdonovich is wearing a very fake stick on mustache. I only continued watching this movie to see the externals of L.A. The acting sucks.

The writing is atrocious. The basic concept is not horrible, but the writer is a bad writer and the director should never get behind a camera again. I have a feeling (pure conjecture) that Bogdonovich is teaching a film course and these clowns were in his class qnd somehow convinced him to be in the movie. Once he was attached to it, it would have been easy to get the funding.

BTW the blood used in this movie looks like red paint.

It's a very hard movie to watch because it's so bad.

Its so refreshing to see a non typical Hollywood move, depicting the darker side of Tinseltown and some excellent acting in a Indy film more like the style of early Hitchcock. This is Director Michael Chrisoulakis's first full length film and I am betting that we will be seeing a lot more of him. Peter Bogdonovich's voice as the hypnotherapist shrink is intoxicating, Lin Shaye was perfectly cast and so believable she is a great actess, the Lead Arielle Brachfeld, who is Priscilla is outstanding, but the one actor that I will never forget when I think about Los Angels Overnight is JamieLee Ackerman who was Else Sharpless. She is the outrageously over the top casting director. When I think the film I hear the click click click click sound of her high heels clicking across the huge sound stage, to the other side, finally getting to the actors auditioning. Else is dressed in way overly stylish outfits and hairdos all designed to intimidate the poor actors that she confronts, talking above them in riddles and treating them to below human lows. She was the best standout to me. I thought the music, drone shots were great and added to the suspense and emotion. The Los Angles shoot locations were not your typical glamorous ones but the gritty side, was way more interesting and believable. This movie will go down as a cult classic Indy. Its a MUST SEE.