Down The Shore

Childhood Scars, Adult Disambiguation
DOWN THE SHORE is one of those little sensitive films that seems like it is lightweight until the secrets of the story begin to leak. It is a film about thwarted human relations that have a core of ill-define tragic misconceptions. It is well written (by Sandra Jennings), well directed (by Harold Guskin) and happens to provide a showcase for some inordinately gifted actors who usually are not given the attention they deserve.

The film opens in Paris where a handsome Jacques (the very impressive Italian actor Edoardo Costa) is cranking a carousel for children in a little park. Observing him is a winsome Susan (Maria Dizzia) who speaks no French but in a rare moment of instant chemical gaze we can see that she and Jacques connect. Susan hires Jacques to be her guide while she is in Paris - and then we see them no more. The scene changes to 3 months later when Jacques comes to Susan's home in New Jersey, meets her brother Bailey (a brilliant role for James Gandolfini),...

James Gandolfini plays another "Jersey Guy", but way different from Tony Soprano. Nice small film
This small independent film puts Sopranos' star James Gandolfini back in northern New Jersey in a small seaside resort town (which is never identified by name.) This time he is not a gangster but a single guy, who once had a high school sweetheart (the girl who, literally, lived next door) but she married one of his "best friends". He now runs the train ride in the small amusement park owned by that "friend". When his sister goes off to Paris and doesn't come back he is forlorn until a man from France comes to visit him and ends up changing his life forever. To tell you any more would spoil the surprises and drama that seep out slowing in the 93 minute film. Gandolfini gets a lot of screen time and his range of emotions is well chosen. The rest of the cast is excellent two including actress Famke Janssen (X-men) as the former girlfriend, now the mother of a developmentally disabled teenager.
I'm sure this film played very few theaters but it's the kind of film that's great to...

More From The Jersey Shore: Good Performances Distinguish This Downbeat Character Piece
Maybe it's just me, but the Garden State always seems to be the setting for downbeat family dramas. "Down The Shore" is just one more example of desperate souls living in disappointment and regret as the world they knew crumbles around them. If you watch a lot of indie films, you will instantly recognize the template that characterizes many of these stories. Therefore, I was initially wary of "Down The Shore." I was afraid it wasn't going to be able to offer me anything new. And in many ways, it didn't. As the movie progresses, dark secrets are revealed, old passions are rekindled, and new betrayals are uncovered. Three childhood friends (James Gandolfini, Famke Janssen, and Joe Pope) are at the center of this tale. Their lives will come crashing down around them on deserted Jersey beaches and dilapidated boardwalk amusement parks. And yet, due to the grounded performances, I was won over by the film's intimacy and sadness.

Gandolfini plays a down-on-his luck amusement...

Click to Editorial Reviews