Breakup Season

Breakup-Season
Breakup Season

Relationships are never easy, and as how the famous phrase goes, ending them is the hardest part. Breakup Season, the new indie feature film from writer/director H. Nelson Tracey deals with precisely this topic and questions if there is ever a good time to say goodbye.

Breakup Season had its world premiere recently at the Desertscape International Film Festival in St. George, Utah and clearly it depicts a rather delightful and sincere story about love and its aftermath. The focus of the film is on Ben (Chandler Riggs of The Walking Dead) and Cassie (Samantha Isler of Captain Fantastic) who are off to be with Ben’s family in the secluded area of Oregon for the Christmas holidays.

From the outset, the two couples appear like they are having a great time, but as soon as the introduction ends, one gets the sense that Cassie thinks one thing about the relationship while Ben thinks the other. Several misdirection and misunderstandings on the surfaces of the relationship as well as those which were implied result in Cassie making an ultimatum saying that she believes that the relationship is no longer serving them and that she will go back home tomorrow.

And it seems that things could have worked out for Cassie anticipating the day where she can say goodbye to her boyfriend. She imagined herself spending time away from him and his family but of course, the weather has different ideas. A snowstorm coupled with blocked roads means that she is unable to make her escape and is forced to spend the rest of Christmas week with her ex-boyfriend and his entire household.

With each passing day of the week, Ben is on a mission to reconcile the differences that exist between the pair, to break the ice, but all this is in vain as Cassie is becoming more firm. It’s a back-and-forth written well enough that tact and wit allow neither side, Ben or Cassie to appear as the curtain raisers, simply an equal side of the coin that a relationship that has sadly split in two.

However, Breakup Season is not a story exclusively of Ben and Cassie. Tracey skillfully incorporates their suffering from their week in contrast to that of the places of surrounding relationships for the week.

Also, visiting from the holidays is Ben’s Mam, Mia Brooks as well as Ben’s Father Kirby played by James Urbaniak from venture bros and Oppenheim who are portrayed in such a delightful relationship that causes a great deal of discomfort watching this warm bond as there exists a divide between Ben and Cassy. Hogan and Urbaniak turn in lovely and soft notes in this scene as they comfort their son while being quite eager to hear Cassy. As their gaze on each other and themselves, Cassie and Ben intertwine, they find out that some things are the same about their relationship while others not so much.

Ben’s siblings also have several issues to attend to, one of which is their love life – Liz (Carly Stewart) is estranged from her partner, and elder brother Gordon (Jacob Wysocki) has returned home after being divorced. Their respective optimism and pessimism about love wage a tug of war on Ben and Cassie as the events of the week push Ben to want to mend things and cause Cassie to want to push things further.

Here in this film, the entire ensemble cast is wonderful and performs admirably. Riggs is effective in portraying an emotionally naked Ben, while Isler is brilliant as Cassie. But the truly interesting one turns out to be, Urbaniak who is quite comical, yet gentle and complete with a warm father searching for the best way to guide his children through the confusing experiences of love and loss.

The film has many notable scenes, many of which owe their effectiveness to Urbaniak’s interaction with on-screen children. For instance, there’s a scene when Kirby lifts Ben to go for a walk to talk him through his woes in life or when he has to go and talk to Gordon in the dark. Both find Urbaniak with his great sense of humor, still explaining gently to the ‘dad’ how it works.

The most important aspect of the film, however, and one that affects it within the narrative rather than stylistically, is writing. There is no such monotony in the scripts and stories that are often a staple of this sub-genre; Tracey’s stories often allow these characters to come at odds with themselves as well as others. The result of such internal and external conflicts over their respective places in life and love creates very raw and real emotional scenes where these characters use their unique differences to get through their conflicts and unite.

There is no mistake in the script in making us feel as if the character is a product. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, seems so believable that by the end of the movie, you can expect absolutely anything because it is not over until it is over. Everything that can possibly happen you believe is so because Tracey writes such convincing and vulnerable people that you cannot help but feel they perform in front of you.

As the film reaches its end, Tracey more often than not makes a dummy left-footed move so that he gets it right with his characters. It moves flawlessly to the heartbreaking concluding events, providing an ending that is as realistic and uplifting as the best romantic comedy-drama filmmakers most cherished back in the day, therefore sadly this one is set to become a classic alongside (500) Days of Summer.

Now, such a debut as Tracey’s is rather strong and self-assured as Breakup Season, and one can’t help but want to ask what will the other future films of Tracey be like. So, this reviewer for one knows what’s next and is enthused to watch it because if it is even half as good as this, then these are going to be some good times.

For more movies like Breakup Season – 123Movies

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