Beeswax (2009)
Beeswax (USA) Directed by Andrew Bujalski Written by Andrew Bujalski Starring Till Hatcher; Maggie Hatcher; Alex Karposky; Anne Dodge; Katy O’Connor; David Zeller; Kykle Henry; Christa Moore; Janet Pierson
Thirty two year old writer/director/editor Andrew Bujalski might well be considered the grandaddy of the mumblecore movement. His debut Funny Ha Ha (2002) set in motion the creation of a series of low tech offerings made with small crews and featuring twenty-somethings with communication issues. While Funny Ha Ha was set in Boston (Bujalski grew up in a nearby suburb) and his second, Mutual Appreciation (2005), takes place in Brooklyn, his third feature Beeswax is set in his adopted home, Austin. This western mecca of all things hipster serves as a fitting backdrop for another of Bujalski’s examinations of interpersonal relations among the young and slackerish. Per usual, Bujalski casts non-professionals, including several Austin based film professionals usually found behind the camera. The leads are real-life twin sisters Tilly (Jeannie) and Maggie (Lauren) Hatcher. Jeannie is a parapalegic owner of a funky used clothing boutique. Between jobs and boyfriends, Lauren is floating, searching for her next move. Jeannie fears that her partner in the business, Amanda (Anne Dodge), might sue her (why is never exactly explained) so she enlists ex Merrill (Alex Karposky), who is studying for his impending bar exam. Shot in 16mm by regular collaborator Matthias Grunsky, the look has progressed since Bujalski’s first film. This time out, there is also an actual plot, albeit an understated, somewhat obscure one. The tension is present, though it is consistently subverted by a concentration on small conversations illustrating the interconnectiveness of the sisters and the people in their lives as opposed to focusing on an escalating trail of events, something Bujalski could care less about and basically eschews. Though there are the usual hems and haws and verbal stumblings layered into the dialogue, what is of primary importance to this director is what we discern between these stilted lines.