Having seen Time Trap (2017), and loving the premise while also liking the kitschy follow-through, as well as enjoying some vibrance of that cast, I decided to look into his earlier offering, STRINGS. Another intriguing entry! Let's begin with the PLOT: Decided loser Billy happens upon the business card of an "experimental therapist" who promises to completely change Billy's life. Point 1: Billy is fairly likeable from the start so we root for him, even if only moderately. His girlfriend Chavine is also likeable even if demanding, and we discover much about why this is in the character build-up. We learn about their respective family upbringing and parental involvement, Chavine's mother intensely involved in her daughter's welfare while Billy's parents are at best detached. There is also alcoholism. But most salient is the death of their daughter, which causes Billy to emotionally wander aimlessly and fail to grow. This is displayed in a couple of good scenes, particularly when the club owner tells Billy he's essentially washed up as a musician and should consider being a sound and light man. Oof!Point 2: SPOILER: The manner by which Billy finds the business card is quite coincidental. Not a setup, just greatly fatalistic. Destiny. Not bad, but a bit heavy-handed.Point 3: SPOILER! The therapy is essentially to become a part of a rescue team for kidnapped children who are forced into child porn. I'm not sure if this is ALL the team does, because we see essentially one mission, but that one mission is quite the disgusting eye-opener, and forces us to again believe in Billy as a person with a worthwhile life-path. The problem, of course, is that he's also become a vigilante, a murderer, even if in the name of a justice which nearly everyone would or should agree. Not only is this a moral tension of the film (is there justified murder?) but there is the added element that once in the gang of mercenary rescuers, always in the gang, and there's no going back to the old life, that is, no "strings" can get in the way or pull you back. This particular element is done a bit poorly, even if it's the central theme. Why? The gang is small, from what I can gather, less than 10 members, and therefore to kill those who disobey the prime directive, so to speak, that is, to have no strings, not only whittles down your gang but also causes too many questions of self-survival, putting too much pressure on missions. In fact, the ending of the film justifies my complaint - SPOILER ALERT! - that Desky "falls out of a window" and everyone is set free. One might say it's the nature of that "business" that such things are doomed to eventually fall apart, and that's fine. It also climaxes as romantic rather than action, which is again fine, because this film is billed as Drama.One interesting and intelligent oddity of the plot is that Billy gets hurt during the raid (or second part of the raid, if you like) and Desky is convinced that rather than kill Billy for being a liability - SPOILER ALERT! - they will opt for plastic surgery to change his appearance and therefore keep on a quite valuable member (Billy does prove it!). Thus, actor Billy Harvey disappears mid-film for Christ Potter! It can't POSSIBLY be that Billy Harvey was removed from production and the writers merely rewrote the script to accommodate because the plot gets BETTER, much better, once the plastic surgery kicks in. Now it's eight years later and - SPOILER ALERT! - "Jimmy" (the new Billy) goes to visit Chavine secretly. This is the "string" he can't break, but we already know his pal and partner Karl visits HIS son, and not with plastic surgery either(!), so the tension of such visit is pretty broken by knowing Desky doesn't know everything. Which is nice, because I'm quite sick of omniscient leaders like Nick Fury.The remainder of the film requires many suspensions of disbelief, including how he gets a job in Chavine's piano shop, why she should have one, how he becomes close with this family, and especially with ther daughter Lily, who - BIG-TIME SPOILER! - is Billy and Chavine's second daughter!It does all work out in the end, with a few further suspensions of disbelief, including how Jimmy evades the wiping out of Chavine and her family and his own death. It's actually done pretty quietly, all things considered, keeping the melancholy tone of the film intact, which is a nice touch, after all.As for Chavine and Jimmy, I'm happy to report - SPOILER! - they keep it clean and do not engage in adulterous amorous reconstitution, leaving us with them both being worthy adults who have actually grown, and not stupid children who can't keep their hormones in check. Those who read my review and object to this morality, or my view of it - I wrote it especially for you, to teach you something. Not every reconnection of former flames must end with lovemaking, especially when it would destroy the family so carefully built, which is of course the main point of the film - GROW! Strings are not only wonderful things but they also can hold you back, and it's quite better that Jimmy and Chavine remain friends, even if Lily is their daughter.One further piece of trivia: the handsome and dramatic Chris Potter, who also wrote and performed some musical pieces for the film, has never done another film, and I can't find any further info on him! He's disappeared!

I had the privilege of screening Strings as a volunteer at the Tulsa Film Festival earlier this year. I was absolutely blown away by every aspect of the film. The overall quality, writing, direction, acting and location selection were as good as any big budget Hollywood film. I was particularly impressed by the acting. Every cast member portrayed the emotion and depth of their character very well. The young actors were especially brilliant in their performances. Getting to hear the story of how Strings was made after the screening revealed what an amazing project the directors put together on an unbelievably small budget. I have become a big fan of Strings and hope to see it again very soon in wide release.

An intense and twisting storyline with a wonderful assembly of talented actors. Strings is about a musician who discovers his therapist is manipulating patients into committing crimes. This movie is in a category of films that you just love to see succeed. It is a first feature film, but with a rich plot line and exceptional cinematography it certainly doesn't look that way. Mark Dennis and Ben Foster bring in some less known talent that you may not have heard of but will certainly see a lot more of. Production is in the micro-budget category, built on the passion and hard work of not only the crew and cast, but all of the family members and friends who help make movies like this happen. Check this one out when it comes around.

My boyfriend and I caught STRINGS at the Long Island Film Expo a couple weeks ago and have been talking about it ever since. There's something about this movie that sits with you for a while, kind of like Memento and the Salton Sea. Maybe it's the heavily-tattooed protagonist being soft-spoken and having women issues in all three of them :) It didn't feel like an independent movie at all, the pacing and production quality were Hollywood caliber and the story was something that, for the first time in years, my boyfriend said "I've never seen a movie like that"....I wish we could buy a DVD! We've told all our friends about it and getting to meet the talented filmmakers was such a great experience. The cast was incredible, the story was incredible, the directing was incredible, I can't say enough good things about this movie. If the STRINGS people are reading this, thank you for making my boyfriend cry!