"Windsor Drive," a surreal drama that crashes and burns
"Windsor Drive" focuses on aspiring actor, River Miller (Tommy O'Reilly, "The Client List") who is struggling to maintain his sanity after his girlfriend Jordana (Jillian Murray, "Cabin Fever: Patient Zero") commits suicide.
River finds himself a new girlfriend in Brooke (Samaire Armstrong, "Resurrection" TV), but the memories and nightmares of Jordana still remain. In an attempt to find some peace of mind, River tries to find a fresh start by trying for a part in a film, so he abruptly ends his relationship with Brooke and moves to Los Angeles.
Once in Los Angeles, River ends up finding a place to stay at a 1920's mansion that includes two odd occupants, Wulfric (Kyan DuBois) and Ivy (Anna Gurji, "Freaky Deaky"), who seem to have issues of their own.
As River tries to win a part in the film, "Windsor Drive," he sets his sights on junior casting director, June (Mandy Musgrave, "South of Nowhere"). Despite moving to Los Angeles to get his mind off Jordana, River's mental state continues to deteriorate and his grip on reality slips further away as someone from his past decides to show up, Brooke.
Natalie Bible' makes her feature length directorial debut with "Windsor Drive." While I believe she accomplished in the film, what she intended to do, I do not feel that it worked. The film has a very surreal feel to it with a multitude of flashbacks, scenes replaying from multiple angles and unique visuals used to convey River's fragmented mind. But I think that is actually a big part of the problem, in that it is too used to excess. I felt like I spent the majority of the time watching the same scenes over and over, waiting for something to happen. As beautiful as Jillian Murray is, I grew tired of the Jordana flashbacks. Wulfric and Ivy did not seem to used effectively. The viewer is sort of left to make up their mind on the odd pair. I can appreciate ambiguity, but unfortunately, I felt there was too much of it throughout the film. I would surmise that Natalie Bible' did the best she could do with the script by T.R. Gough, but the script just needed more work as it just seemed too 'light'. The movie may have played much better if done as a short film with a run time somewhere around thirty minutes.
I thought overall, the actors did a good job in their respective roles. Tommy O'Reilly definitely was able to turn on the crazy look in his face when it was needed.
RATING: 1.5 / 5
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