I rarely get to see Lou Taylor Pucci anymore in movies.
Maybe ‘cause I don’t look for him or maybe ‘cause I thought he’d be a major
star and be in everything, but thank God he’s not ‘cause then I get to see him do
his best in forcefully interesting fair like Spring.
Spring is a horror movie with a twist focus…………………it’s
really a romantic drama. Shot in a beautiful up close modern day whimsical lens,
it allows itself to be more captivating than constantly repulsive. Lou Taylor
Pucci plays Evan, a down on his luck American man who takes time off school to
take care of his cancer ridden mother. When things go awry Evan decides to
travel to Italy to find solace and a piece of mind, where he surprisingly meets
Louise (played by Nadia Hilker), an Italian native who Evan all but resists
pursuing. As they get to know each other, things seem more than perfect and all
too perfect, as it turns out Louise has a deadly hidden truth of
a nefarious nature beyond her control.
What’s important about Spring
goes beyond its plot, as the writing is where this movie really shines. Every
word written is played for real as it strikes from a far too familiar place. You
feel Evan’s pain through what he says and does. His friends respond to him in a
way that they should, and most of all his relationship with Louise is exactly
how it needs to be. Most romantic comedies/dramas try to make everything stop
and start, and convolute relationships with quirky behavior and scenarios while
trying to make it impossible for two characters to exist, but Spring allows the characters to just be in
a realistic world without having to try. It goes so far to even make the
dialogue about the Horror mythology of the plot feel romantic, ‘cause instead
of both characters being devastated or freaked out they talk it through. The
dialogue about the matter at hand is actually complicated but intriguing
without pretention and unlike the 80’s Fly,
both Evan and Louise are considerate about how they both feel about the
situation and are up front but respectful which really brings out the effect of
their fondness for each other.
If Richard Linklater were to make a Body Horror film Spring would be it. If Lou Taylor Pucci
continues to make movies like this, that would be perfect. And if Nadia Hilker
doesn’t become a big star, then that’s too bad, she’s a naturally bold actor.
Spring is scary in
what we don’t know about Louise but also delightfully warm and intriguing for
the same reason.
-
Maurice Jones
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