STAFF PICK: THE WILD MAN
By Samuel Garcia
The beginning sequence to The Wild Man has been stuck in my head from the moment the first scene started. The set up is fluid: son grapples with a dad who has a deteriorating mental disorder. The dad thinks he’s a feral animal and dons a costume to play the part. It’s a struggle. A familiar one that hits home for anyone who ever has had to deal with the well-being of their parent. As the son drives into the dark neighborhood to find his dad, a simple folk song plays and suddenly you understand not just the immediate normalcy of the situation but how, despite there being a every chance to elevate the drama and urgency, writer/director Riley Cusick instead lets us sit in the passenger seat and observe a routine.
Taking care of your mom or dad can be frustrating, when out of nowhere after years pre-established roles are just flipped on its head and suddenly you have nothing but responsibilities spilling out of your arms. It’s a situation that’s hard to explain to just anyone, and I think once it dawned on me that someone had managed to articulate it in a manner so clear and yet so seemingly silly, I wanted nothing less than to watch this film from folky start to moving end. Films like The Wild Man come few and far between. In a world where films try to do everything, they can in order to scream their budget to your face and stand out among peers, we get a story told almost in passing. This isn’t a film trying to show off, but really focuses on striking a chord with the heart it wears on its sleeve. If you’re watching close enough you start to see a bit of your own life on screen.
For me, I start see my grandma and my mom arguing whenever I see Riley trying to bring his dad to his senses. I see myself exasperated and tired with a family that was never my first choice, but that I would still attempt to move the earth for. This isn’t an absurd story about absurd people. This is a familiar story about family, by which Riley has managed to craft a sense of humanity that ends up being both subtle and charming through and through.
The Wild Man
(USA, 97 MIN)
Writer/Director: Riley Cusick
Cast:Larry Fessenden, Jenna Kanell, Riley Cusick, Kelli Maroney
Make sure you catch one of two showings of The Wild Man while at AFF:
Sunday, October 30 6:30pm
Rollins Long Center
Wednesday, November 2 7:00pm
Galaxy Theatre 6