Act 2, Scene 1: Where I Forget My Lines

Just when you think life hasn't anything new to offer along comes a little film that rocks you. An Indie film. No major studio involved. Just folks getting together with what money they can drum up and doing something they believe in.

Caught one the other night. A gift. It made me think: 1) How the mainstream studios often miss the mark when it comes to being intelligent and engaging, and 2) How these Indie films aren't always about stuff we can't understand or want to. And that made me think of a third thing: 3) How much our lives may be like little mini-Indies. Raw, real, gritty, funny and at times poignant. Or weird. Sometimes weird is good.

If you subscribe to this last point, you probably already know your own mini-Indie need not be full of pathos and wrought with angst. (Angst is so passé anyway.) Because you decide what your story is. Maybe yours is more romantic comedy. Mine is more of a quirky story and if I had the gumption I'd ask Steve Buscemi to play me. And if I can't get him, I can always play him playing me. If you do something like that too you won't have to worry about it being cheesy. Because people you'd choose probably wouldn't do cheese.

And once in a while, if you're into it, I'd zoom out and give everyone the full picture. It helps others know where you are. And what folks around you are doing. And maybe what you're eating.

As the story evolves, with all the nonsense surrounding us these days, and if we're being real, it's no wonder that sometimes we are at a loss for words, forget our lines, and at times even struggle to find the plot line. But chances are we figure it out in the end. If we don't, why, that's a story in itself.

So if you're into it, consider your days and even particular moments as part of a grander script. Because if we appreciate the subtleties, wackiness and richness of our little lives as we go along, we are tempted to treat those moments of ours, when we're just being human, as treasures.

And maybe the next Indie film that rocks your world will be a very special story.

Yours.

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Above: Studies from "Welcome to the Rileys" written by Ken Hixon and directed by Jake Scott (son of Ridley), with James Gandolfini as Paul and Melissa Leo, as his wife Lois, who become involved on a with Kristen Stewart who plays a teenaged prostitute. And by helping her out a bit the couple finds they feel better and can move on from their own troubles. Along the way cinematographer Christopher Soos does what more people in film and video should. He sets the scene (maybe reminiscent of Edward Hopper) with quick establishing shots. The ones he provides throughout the film obviously took time and vision to set up but those few seconds of unscripted ambient silence speak volumes.