by The Great White Gypsy

So after a whole week of slacking (and having my wisdom teeth removed), I regrouped for the home stretch of the SIFF. I decided to get some local flavor with Morning at the Harvard Exit.

Set in and shot all over Seattle, Morning deals with some heavy subject matter. Michael and Sara are a young married couple, with a young son and a shaky marriage. One pivotal night, selfish decisions are made and seemingly innocuous circumstances cause the tragic death of their 2-year-old son. The couple begins an erratic downward spiral of blame, guilt, and alcoholism in an attempt to keep their marriage together while coping with their loss.

More than anything else, I have to say that I respect this film, and everything that went into it. Joe Mitacek, who grew up in the Queen Anne area of Seattle, didn’t just lose his director cherry with this film, but he wrote, edited, shot, and produced it as well. I feel like most of the time a newbie takes on this much responsibility, it’s with a simple, or comedic, or very personal project. But Mitacek attempted to run before he could walk in dealing with subject matter that falls under the “scariest shit ever” category for almost everyone. This isn’t even the cut and dry, stages of guilt drama that In the Bedroom was, or the feel-good coping found in Moonlight Mile or Imaginary Heroes. This is, “things are messed up, now they’re fucked up, now they’re really fucked up.”

As Mitacek himself pointed out in the Q&A afterwards, pretty much everything about the final product of this film rested on the shoulders of the two main actors and the composer. Andrew Ramaglia and Emily Cline each bring an amazing level of emotion to their respective characters. Granted, the acting isn’t exactly polished, and at times comes off as very scripted and contrived. You could attribute that to the script or the directing as well. And the couple’s chemistry together isn’t the best I’ve seen. But when dealing with the individual coping mechanisms, there is a rawness on screen you don’t see very often. Unfortunately the film is about the loss of a child, and while I could sympathize with each character separately I didn’t have enough backstory - or see enough quality interaction - for the couple, and it made it hard to feel anything for the devolution of their relationship.

Even when the characters aren’t talking, there’s really no emotional downtime in the film, and that’s thanks to first time composer Peter Murray. For this film, Mitacek needed a simple, unimposing yet thoughtful and even score. That’s exactly what he got. With a few simple guitar riffs, Murray essentially interprets the characters inner struggles, and contrasts them with Mitacek’s slow, calm shots of downtown Seattle. It’s not going to win any awards, but if you need the composer to be a solid-yet-silent secondary character, this is right on.

Everyone involved here has potential. Acting, composing, and the omnipresent Milacek, though I feel that the subject matter may have been better shelved until his second or third film. That’s really not a cop out. If this film hadn’t been shot in my home city, and if it had involved well-known actors, it still probably wouldn’t be considered a “great” film. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, after one or all of these people are famous, film buffs find this title and say, “Wow, even back then you could see (insert name here)’s skills.

Though every name attached to this film is new to me, it was really cool to have a Q&A after the screening. At first, Mitacek, Ramaglia, Cline, and Murray were the only ones on stage. As the questions continued, however, more and more familiar faces appeared until the entire cast was standing up front, and then mingling in the audience. They weren’t the most energetic group (they’ve probably heard the same questions a thousand times during their festival circuit), but they were all thoughtful, intelligent, and passionate about their craft. To me, that’s the coolest part of festivals. Even if the film had sucked, I would’ve enjoyed the experience.

FINAL GRADE: C

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