August 2, 2024
FILM: PEAK SEASON
DIRECTED BY: STEVEN KANTER, HENRY LOEVNER
STARRING: CLAUDIA RESTREPO, DEREK JOSEPH DEBLASIS, BEN COLEMAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Peak Season is the kind of film that adults who like a bit of comedy, drama, and romance would enjoy if only they had a chance to see it. It’s getting a very limited theatrical release which is a shame because it’s a very well-made, well-shot, and beautifully acted film. There aren’t any big stars (although Stephanie Courtney who plays Flo in those Progressive Insurance commercials is featured in one scene early in the film…) Regardless, these are respectable actors who are more than up to the challenge of creating and building characters that we grow to care about in the brief 82-minute running time.
Claudia Restrepo stars as Amy Jimenez who lands in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on vacation with her job-obsessed fiancée Max (Ben Coleman.) When he can’t seem to pull himself away from work issues, Amy takes a fly-fishing class from a local guy named Loren, played by Derrick Joseph DeBlasis. Loren is everything that Max is not. Where Max is tightly controlled and well-organized, Loren is a bit scattered with multiple jobs and an uncertain future. He’s scruffy and seems to sleep in his car with his dog Dorothy. The narrative moves in a fairly predictable direction with Loren and Amy spending more than a little time together as Max rushes back to New York to take care of business.
While there are familiar plot elements from films such as The Bridges of Madison County, writer/directors Steven Kantner and Henry Loevner allow for a lighter tone and spend an ample amount of time building this particular relationship and the chemistry between the characters. It’s clear that Amy and Loren bond well together. Is this a seasonal connection or could there be more? Kantner and Loevner do a nice job of exploring the differences in their lifestyles. On the one hand, there’s money and stability with Max but Loren offers an independent, free-spirited life which is open to potentially non-traditional and new approaches to living (well, maybe the living in a car thing could get old…) Essentially this is a film about the universal choices we all confront: those we’ve made and those we have yet to consider.
The setting, of course, is pretty spectacular and the cinematography captures it quite beautifully. The landscapes of Wyoming depicted sell a lifestyle that make it easy to see why some may choose to escape to the area temporarily or even permanently. The mountains, rivers, and sunsets are breath-taking. It’s hard not to also fall in love with the architecturally dynamic home that Amy and Max are renting. With huge windows and wide open spaces, it’s a home most of us would kill to chill in for a few weeks. (I’m ready to search for it on Airbnb...)
All of this adds up to a light, romantic film that is pretty grounded in its depiction of Wyoming life from the perspective of those who live there permanently vs. those who vacation there. (There are no political discussions…)
The script is pretty solid although Max is a bit annoying and one-dimensional and Amy’s life back home could be a bit more developed but this is a small window into their life so we get to know what we need to know. The characters who set them up in the house, George and Lydia Friedman, played by the aforementioned Courtney and the always good Fred Melamed, also seem like interesting people whom I’d love to spend more time with than we actually get.
Still, the focus is on Loren and Amy and they are pretty delightful characters themselves. Taking this relatable journey of discovery and human feelings with them is a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Sorry, there are no car chases or superheroes involved…
Peak Season opens in limited theatrical release this week.
FILM: PEAK SEASON
DIRECTED BY: STEVEN KANTER, HENRY LOEVNER
STARRING: CLAUDIA RESTREPO, DEREK JOSEPH DEBLASIS, BEN COLEMAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Peak Season is the kind of film that adults who like a bit of comedy, drama, and romance would enjoy if only they had a chance to see it. It’s getting a very limited theatrical release which is a shame because it’s a very well-made, well-shot, and beautifully acted film. There aren’t any big stars (although Stephanie Courtney who plays Flo in those Progressive Insurance commercials is featured in one scene early in the film…) Regardless, these are respectable actors who are more than up to the challenge of creating and building characters that we grow to care about in the brief 82-minute running time.
Claudia Restrepo stars as Amy Jimenez who lands in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on vacation with her job-obsessed fiancée Max (Ben Coleman.) When he can’t seem to pull himself away from work issues, Amy takes a fly-fishing class from a local guy named Loren, played by Derrick Joseph DeBlasis. Loren is everything that Max is not. Where Max is tightly controlled and well-organized, Loren is a bit scattered with multiple jobs and an uncertain future. He’s scruffy and seems to sleep in his car with his dog Dorothy. The narrative moves in a fairly predictable direction with Loren and Amy spending more than a little time together as Max rushes back to New York to take care of business.
While there are familiar plot elements from films such as The Bridges of Madison County, writer/directors Steven Kantner and Henry Loevner allow for a lighter tone and spend an ample amount of time building this particular relationship and the chemistry between the characters. It’s clear that Amy and Loren bond well together. Is this a seasonal connection or could there be more? Kantner and Loevner do a nice job of exploring the differences in their lifestyles. On the one hand, there’s money and stability with Max but Loren offers an independent, free-spirited life which is open to potentially non-traditional and new approaches to living (well, maybe the living in a car thing could get old…) Essentially this is a film about the universal choices we all confront: those we’ve made and those we have yet to consider.
The setting, of course, is pretty spectacular and the cinematography captures it quite beautifully. The landscapes of Wyoming depicted sell a lifestyle that make it easy to see why some may choose to escape to the area temporarily or even permanently. The mountains, rivers, and sunsets are breath-taking. It’s hard not to also fall in love with the architecturally dynamic home that Amy and Max are renting. With huge windows and wide open spaces, it’s a home most of us would kill to chill in for a few weeks. (I’m ready to search for it on Airbnb...)
All of this adds up to a light, romantic film that is pretty grounded in its depiction of Wyoming life from the perspective of those who live there permanently vs. those who vacation there. (There are no political discussions…)
The script is pretty solid although Max is a bit annoying and one-dimensional and Amy’s life back home could be a bit more developed but this is a small window into their life so we get to know what we need to know. The characters who set them up in the house, George and Lydia Friedman, played by the aforementioned Courtney and the always good Fred Melamed, also seem like interesting people whom I’d love to spend more time with than we actually get.
Still, the focus is on Loren and Amy and they are pretty delightful characters themselves. Taking this relatable journey of discovery and human feelings with them is a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Sorry, there are no car chases or superheroes involved…
Peak Season opens in limited theatrical release this week.