Tilt

Documentary film makers are really interesting. They have so many ideas, on what story they want to tell. No matter if the documentary film takes on political issues, or biographical portraits, you can find many different ways to tell an interesting story. There are a lot of really good documentary directors out there, and one of my personal favourite documentary film makers is known as Stanley Nelson. I love his 2006 documentary film Jonestown : The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple. This film is not only interesting from a historical point of view, but also very emotional. The story is based on the Jonestown massacre, where preacher Jim Jones murdered a whole colony of followers through poison drinks back in 1976. The story shocked people worldwide, and left many families devastated to loose their loved ones. The documentary film Jonestown : The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple gives you a very personal look, both inside the cult, but also who Jim Jones was. The interviews with surviving members, gives this film a very emotional tone. if you have not seen this excellent documentary film, you should watch it on Youtube. I also love the documentary films of film maker Michael Moore, and he have done plenty of good documentary films. My personal favourite from documentary director Michael Moore, is without a doubt his film Farenheit 9/11. He really gave us interesting details on how former president George W. Bush handled the September 11th attacks back in 2001 on the World Trade Center. This film does not only give a different approach on what happened during this awful day, but also what happened before September 11 and if there is another side of the story to everything. I strongly suggest you watch Farenheit 9/11 and make up your own mind. I love the category of psychological thrillers, especially if the film showing turns out to be good. But this is not an easy combination, since you have to be able to tell a story effective that will make the audience connect. One good example where this goes well, is to mention legendary director Martin Scorseses film Shutter Island. A really good psychological thriller, with a wonderful cast. I recently got a chance to see a film i have never heard of before, a psychological thriller called Tilt. A film about a documentary film maker, who clearly seems to have personal problems. The trailer looked interesting, so i decided to give Tilt a chance. Do we have a thriller made for the summer audience, or should this thriller be buried under the sand of tourists ?

Joseph Burns ( Joseph Cross ) is an unemployed documentary film maker, who wants to finish his documentary film. This is his biggest passion, and he wants to find a distributor to help him get the film out there. But with very little money, and he is soon to become a father, Joseph have a much bigger responsibility to think about. His wife Kendra ( Jessy Hodges ) is really looking forward to their child, and is preparing herself for motherhood. However, it becomes clear that something is not right with Josef. It is like he have a different personality within himself, a much darker and angry personality. His documentary film still needs to be finished, and as Joseph digs deeper into work, and not finding a job, his world is falling apart. Can he find a way out, or is this the next step into insanity ?

Tilt is a psychological thriller drama that takes time to get into. There are a lot of dialogue scenes, and in the first 30 minutes of the film you get to understand the main characters. And the film change direction for a bit after those 30 minutes, when we get to see lead character Joseph Burns having problems with his mental health. You can tell that there is a ticking bomb inside of him, that will go off when he encounter something he sees as a problem. He wants to kill, but can he stop himself from doing so? Lead actor Joseph Cross, ( who have been in a number of good films such as Lincoln, and Milk ), give us a performance that manage to capture a man in desperate need of help for his mental illness. To act out this on screen is not easy, but i think Joseph Cross manage to do so in a realistic way. Actor Jesse Hodges ( who have been seen in TV comedy series such as Hindsight ) also give a solid performance, as Joseph´s pregnant girlfriend Kendra. The film focuses on their relationship, and how they try to handle the situation of soon becoming parents. In my personal opinion, the film becomes more interesting when you see Joseph begin to fade away, into his own world. Will he eventually be able to stop his behavior, or is he digging himself deeper into a darkness with no exit ? This is where Tilt works best, on a psychological level, and how a persona with mental issues can change personalities. This film does feel a bit too much drawn out in some scenes, as if they decided to fill in with more dialogue instead of focusing on Josephs transformation. If the film would have focused more on that part, i have a feeling Tilt would have been even more interesting. Director Kasra Farahani have worked as an concept artist on many films, such as Spider-Man 3, Hancock and The Wolfman. He directed his first directorial debut film back in 2016 with the thriller film The Good Neighbor. I have not seen this film, but i can tell you that director Kasra Farahani have managed to make Tilt into a psychological film that works. If he would have skipped some of the long dialogue scenes, and given us a deeper look inside Josephs journey with his mental problems, we would probably have a much stronger film. Still, i have to say, Tilt is still an interesting look inside a disturbed man, who is not ready to be a father. If you dont like slow films, Tilt is not in your taste. But if you have patience and let this film grow for a while, you might actually find this film appealing. 

Rating: DDD