Narratively, the film is even more problematic. But patchwork fixes and set-shot material distract from the storytelling, suggesting a less acute sense of continuity than one might initially suspect, even grading on a curve. Cinematographer Lucas Lee Graham, too, captures some of the discombobulating visual assault that theme parks offer. The use of classic Hollywood instrumentation - both by way of composer Abel Korzeniowski’s musical contributions and selected extant cues - gives “Escape From Tomorrow” the feeling of an overly ripe, pungent family drama, making some of its plot twists and turns (better left unrevealed) all the more bizarre. It’s a shame, though, that some of the execution isn’t better. The bold ingenuity of the basic idea, as well as the level of planning involved in, say, charting the position of the sun in order to be able to shoot outdoors without lights, rate highly. Technically, “Escape From Tomorrow” rates almost two different scores. But the more fantastic and out there Moore’s story becomes, the less interesting and appealing its mode of expression is. And the movie’s juxtaposition of private stimuli - of libidinal impulses, shame and disorientation - with public spaces (and an iconic one at that) is heady stuff early on. The film is meant to be an indictment of the mythology of artificial perfection - the perfectly groomed hedges and magical orderedness of Walt Disney’s kingdom, where everyone is friendly and happy. “Escape From Tomorrow” casts a spell, certainly. Soon, this would-be idyllic family vacation unravels completely into a Kafka-esque nightmare. All this coincides with two giggling, pre-teen French girls (Danielle Safady and Annet Mahendru) who catch Jim’s eye at various park attractions. As if on cue, Jim starts not feeling well. When his son skins his knee, a nurse advises that the “cat flu” is going around. Together they plunge forth into the day. Soon, however, Jim starts noticing all sorts of strange things. What his wife doesn’t know is that, as the film opens, Jim’s been fired from his job by phone. Jim White (Roy Abramsohn) and his wife Emily (Elena Schuber) have brought their two young kids to Disneyworld for a family vacation. At times legitimately hypnotically alluring, “Escape From Tomorrow” runs out of gas and reaches a point of diminishing return halfway through, give or take, lending weight to the conclusion that this under-sketched expression of paranoia and anxiety would have worked better as a short form offering. Shot in the monochromatic setting of the Canon 5D Mark II digital camera, debut director Randy Moore’s strange meditation on the inherent phoniness of family mores - part black-and-white student thesis film, part subversive attack on corporate-peddled American fantasy - unfolds in unauthorized fashion at Orlando’s Disneyworld theme park, with a pinch of green-screen assistance here and there. One of the buzziest titles at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Escape From Tomorrow” comes to its reputation for dropping jaws sincerely, by way of its guerilla-style production technique. Starring: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Danielle Safady, Annet Mahendru ANNET MAHENDRU, DANIELLE SAFADY, DISNEY, DISNEYLAND, DISNEYWORLD, ELENA SCHUBER, ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW, INDIE FILM, MANKURT MEDIA, PRODUCERS DISTRIBUTION AGENCY, RANDY MOORE, ROY ABRAMSOHN, SCI-FI, SCIENCE FICTION, SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, WALT DISNEY
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