Small Engine Repair

Frank runs a repair shop. Two old friends are with him: Swaino and Packie. The three grew up together and are still in the same town. Frank's daughter Crystal is going to university; he raised her alone and she is the one steady thing in his life. One evening Frank calls the other two to the shop. There is drink, there is music, and they talk about the old days. Then there is a knock at the door. The person who comes is a young university student. Why Frank really called them becomes clear then. John Pollono wrote, directed and plays Frank; Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham and Ciara Bravo are in the cast. It is an American production. The source is Pollono's own stage play; it had been staged earlier and the same three actors worked together on stage. Its form comes from the theatre; the last section is almost entirely in one place and proceeds close to real time. The matter it treats is an image that reaches the internet and what it does to a young person; the film does not turn it into a revenge story. The friendship of the three carries the first half and the question of class is made plain there. The narrative gives no character a clean position; all three are part of the same order at some point. The film was shown at a festival and released in limited distribution. Its limit is form; because the stage structure is kept it is narrow as cinema and the first half loose. Who it is for: viewers who like films drawn from the stage and character drama. Who it is not for: the subject is uncomfortable, the pace uneven, and the ending hard.