Beeswax English Movie
Cast and crew
Starring: Tilly Hatcher, Maggie Hatcher, Alex Karpovsky, Katy O’Connor, David Zellner, Kyle Henry, Anne Dodge, Bryan Poyser, Nathan Zellner, Dia Sokol
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski
Producer: Dia Sokol, Ethan Vogt
Studio: Cinema Guild
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Dramas
Reviews
Twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren– live in Austin, Texas. Jeannie co-owns a vintage clothing store with Amanda, a semi-estranged friend who she fears is trying to end their partnership. Lauren leads a looser, less tethered existence and is considering getting out of the country altogether. When Jeannie receives an email from Amanda threatening a lawsuit, she calls her law student ex-boyfriend Merrill for help. Eager for distraction from his own problems, he begins helping the sisters with theirs.BEESWAX is a story about families, real and imagined, people taking care of each other when they want to, when they need to, when they ought to. It is also a film that perhaps moves the most BEESWAX is a story about families, real and imagined, people taking care of each other when they want to, when they need to, when they ought to. It is also a film that perhaps moves the most famous member of the "Mumblecore" out of the group and into the next stage of his career. Like Bujalski’s previous films, the cast of BEESWAX is made up of non-professional (but carefully cast) actors and filmed with a light, fast-moving crew. The goal is to tell an intimate, peculiar story the likes of which one could not achieve via a more traditional, large-scale mode of production.
The story revolves primarily around a pair of twin sisters–Jeannie, who has been in a wheelchair since her youth, and Lauren. Jeannie co-owns a vintage clothing store with her semi-estranged friend Amanda, while Lauren is between jobs and between boyfriends, considering going overseas to teach English. Tensions are mounting between Jeannie and Amanda, their management styles clashing and communication problems getting exacerbated. An e-mail from Amanda implying that their conflict will end in a lawsuit if necessary sends Jeannie into a mild panic–Amanda’s lawyer father had written up all their agreements and Jeannie feels beleaguered and at a distinct disadvantage. She calls on an ex-boyfriend, Merrill, who has just graduated from law school and is studying for the bar, and after falling immediately into bed together, Merrill begins distracting himself from his own problems by trying to assist Jeannie.
Various strategies for dealing with the Amanda crisis are discussed and pursued, though it remains infuriatingly unclear exactly how serious the crisis is–Amanda remains in the background and no one knows how idle her threat has been. When Lauren, at loose ends, gets roped into a familial obligation back home with her mother, her mother’s partner, Sally, somewhat overreaching her step-motherly bounds, tries to involve herself in Jeannie’s problems.In this typically low-key comedy drama from independent writer/director Andrew Bujalski, Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher) and Lauren (Maggie Hatcher) are a pair of twin sisters living in Austin, TX, who are close without having much in common. Jeannie, who is confined to a wheelchair, runs a well-established vintage clothing store called Storyville with her longtime friend Amanda (Anne Dodge), while Lauren drifts from job to job and is pondering an offer to teach English in Kenya. Jeannie and Amanda have had a falling out and Jeannie is worried about her stake in the business, especially since the original partnership agreements were drawn up by Amanda's father. When Amanda suggests she may take legal action to take full control of Storyville, Jeannie decides she needs legal advice and turns to Merrill (Alex Karpovsky), a former boyfriend who has almost completed his law degree. Merrill is feeling frazzled as he tries to pass the bar exam and he welcomes the distraction, but it isn't long before he forgets one of the first rules of legal ethics and begins sleeping with Jeannie. Lauren, meanwhile, wants to be of assistance to her sister, but she gets roped into helping her mother with her myriad problems while trying to make sense of her own future. Beeswax was an official selection at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival.
"Beeswax," the third feature from American indie auteur Andrew Bujalski ("Funny Ha Ha," "Mutual Appreciation"), offers yet another low-key take on twentysomethings finding their way. Character-driven slice-of-life thesped mostly by nonpros resolutely avoids the dramatic -- dwelling instead on the moments in between. Unlikely to reach much beyond the helmer's fan base (some of whom will think he's treading water), this modest but fest-friendly item could slip into niche arthouse slots, drawing the same Gen-Y demographic as his earlier pics.
Texas-set tale centers on charismatic twin sisters who share an Austin home. Athletic free-spirit Lauren (Maggie Hatcher, a college friend of Bujalski) is between jobs and boyfriends and considering going abroad to teach English.
More tightly wound Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher, a teacher and artist who created the colorful opening and closing title card collages) is a paraplegic who co-owns a local vintage store where she has ongoing problems with business partner Amanda (Anne Dodge). Matter-of-fact depiction of her disability reps a marketing plus that could be used to target new audiences.
Fearing Amanda might sue her, Jeannie solicits the advice of former boyfriend Merrill (indie filmmaker Alex Karpovsky), a law student studying for the bar exam. As the pair rekindle their relationship, loquacious Merrill takes an overactive interest in Jeannie's problem.
While the Jeannie-Amanda conflict motors the loose plot, its exact nature remains irritatingly vague. Equally annoying, an offer from the twins' mother's lover Sally (Janet Pierson) to invest in the shop never seems to get conveyed to Jeannie.
Although Bujalski's spin on the legal thriller lacks narrative tension, it ambles on pleasantly enough, buoyed by the twins' refreshingly forthright screen presence. Abrupt ending feels like a cop-out.
Essentially, the slight story could take place anywhere; the anonymous-looking exteriors don't exploit locations in any way. However, the Austin setting permitted the helmer to recruit a supporting cast of local filmmakers (including the producer-director Zellner brothers, animator Katy O'Connor and editor Kyle Henry) as well as South by Southwest Film Fest honcho Pierson, all of whom supply credible perfs.
On his third outing with Bujalski, d.p. Matthias Grunsky's intimate, unshowy lensing keeps the focus on the characters, with Jeannie's wheelchair taking on a presence of its own. Uncredited production design has a homemovie feel.
