May 9, 2024
FILM: EAST BAY
DIRECTED BY: DANIEL YOON
STARRING: CONSTANCE WU, DANIEL YOON, KAVI RAMACHANDRAN LADNIER
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
In East Bay, Daniel Yoon plays Jack Lee, a man about to hit 40 trying to figure out his place in the world. He’s been deeply affected by what he deems as a series of failures and he doesn’t really know how to define success at this point in his life. Since he was quite young his passion has been filmmaking but he is currently working in the IT field with his two buddies, Tim and Stuart. They’re both hitting middle age too and seem to be stuck in the same positon as Jack. While Jack spends much of his time brooding over his issues, they just seem to be covering it up by playing hockey and getting high. Jack seems to want more.
Yoon is also the writer, director, and editor of this film and it seems pretty clear he’s been trying to work out many of his own demons. As such, there is a strong self-reflexive quality to the film with many flashbacks, imagery with varying levels of quality, and some occasional visual trickery. We hear a lot of Jack’s narration which is basically Yoon’s own voice telling the character’s story as well as his own. At times, it feels like a mesh of ideas thrown together that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to add up to. Then the final sequence arrives and Yoon is able to pretty clearly state his message.
Basically, all of these characters are experiencing a mid-life existential crisis. Yoon as Jack, brings out their fears, questions, and philosophical concerns. Via interviews, they each discuss their thoughts about whether God exists or whether life is nothing but a simulation. They ponder what success and happiness means and where it currently fits into their lives. They’re having the kind of debates that many young people have in college but that’s not where these characters are. They are deep into adulthood still trying to figure things out. Maybe because of the life experience they have had up to this point it seems to be the right time for them to consider all of this. None are particularly happy or in very satisfying careers, so why not?
The biggest star of the film is Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off the Boat) who is quite good here as a film festival programmer and potential love interest for Jack. She’s able to handle some of the weightier material and offers an emotional range that works well with the overall arc of the narrative.
Yoon does a good job of directing himself and some of the lesser-known actors. At times, he may be trying to bite off more than he can chew though, seemingly emulating similar and more polished work by director/writers such as Charlie Kaufman or Woody Allen. But as scattered as the film feels at times, Yoon manages to tap into the difficult nature of being at mid-life, still having a lot of life to live, and needing to pull together one’s wants and needs. It’s an interesting and ambitious project that suggests he might have even more to say if he gets a bigger budget and more support behind him for future films.
East Bay opens this week in limited theatrical release. It will be streaming on demand beginning May 31st.
FILM: EAST BAY
DIRECTED BY: DANIEL YOON
STARRING: CONSTANCE WU, DANIEL YOON, KAVI RAMACHANDRAN LADNIER
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
In East Bay, Daniel Yoon plays Jack Lee, a man about to hit 40 trying to figure out his place in the world. He’s been deeply affected by what he deems as a series of failures and he doesn’t really know how to define success at this point in his life. Since he was quite young his passion has been filmmaking but he is currently working in the IT field with his two buddies, Tim and Stuart. They’re both hitting middle age too and seem to be stuck in the same positon as Jack. While Jack spends much of his time brooding over his issues, they just seem to be covering it up by playing hockey and getting high. Jack seems to want more.
Yoon is also the writer, director, and editor of this film and it seems pretty clear he’s been trying to work out many of his own demons. As such, there is a strong self-reflexive quality to the film with many flashbacks, imagery with varying levels of quality, and some occasional visual trickery. We hear a lot of Jack’s narration which is basically Yoon’s own voice telling the character’s story as well as his own. At times, it feels like a mesh of ideas thrown together that doesn’t seem to know what it wants to add up to. Then the final sequence arrives and Yoon is able to pretty clearly state his message.
Basically, all of these characters are experiencing a mid-life existential crisis. Yoon as Jack, brings out their fears, questions, and philosophical concerns. Via interviews, they each discuss their thoughts about whether God exists or whether life is nothing but a simulation. They ponder what success and happiness means and where it currently fits into their lives. They’re having the kind of debates that many young people have in college but that’s not where these characters are. They are deep into adulthood still trying to figure things out. Maybe because of the life experience they have had up to this point it seems to be the right time for them to consider all of this. None are particularly happy or in very satisfying careers, so why not?
The biggest star of the film is Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off the Boat) who is quite good here as a film festival programmer and potential love interest for Jack. She’s able to handle some of the weightier material and offers an emotional range that works well with the overall arc of the narrative.
Yoon does a good job of directing himself and some of the lesser-known actors. At times, he may be trying to bite off more than he can chew though, seemingly emulating similar and more polished work by director/writers such as Charlie Kaufman or Woody Allen. But as scattered as the film feels at times, Yoon manages to tap into the difficult nature of being at mid-life, still having a lot of life to live, and needing to pull together one’s wants and needs. It’s an interesting and ambitious project that suggests he might have even more to say if he gets a bigger budget and more support behind him for future films.
East Bay opens this week in limited theatrical release. It will be streaming on demand beginning May 31st.