Top

film

Stories

 

Putty Hill surveys the effects of an overdose on a working-class family

Comments (0) By Mark Holcomb Tuesday, Apr 19 2011

Related Content

More About

Sharing the narrative opacity and marginal milieu of Hamilton, its 2006 predecessor, Putty Hill, the assured feature-length followup from Matt Porterfield, surveys the effects of a young man's overdose death on his extended working-class family. And like the militantly decentralized storytelling that Porterfield favors, their grief surfaces in flashes but pointedly resists cohesion. The clan members all but bounce off one another as they gather for Cory's wake and funeral: His teenage sister, Zoe (Zoe Vance), can't wait to bug out of the titular northeastern Baltimore suburb after the services, while brother James (James Siebor Jr.) spends the morning blithely playing paintball. The closest anyone comes to open emotion is when cousin Jenny (Sky Ferreira, the only professional performer in the cast) breaks down over having to spend the night at the home of her ex-con father (Charles Sauers). Porterfield intersperses these delicately underplayed scenes with doc-style question-and-answer exchanges that, while initially jarring, achieve maximum cumulative impact: Beneath the ostensible indifference of the not-quite mourners lurks a stoic acceptance of bad decisions and worse luck that has metastasized into numb resignation. Like the scenes of poor, dead Cory's deserted shooting-gallery house that bookend the film, his kin's lack of affect is inscrutable, potent and sad.

Related Content

 
My Voice Nation Help
1 comments
  Livefyre
Newest | Oldest
MCA_2
MCA_2

looks like an interesting story and i like the featuring too..!!will watch it soon..!! Business Loan

 
VOICE Daily Deals

Now Showing

Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.

Powered By VOICE Places

Slideshows

Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!

Box Office

  1. Iron Man 3, 72.5 mil, 284.9 mil
  2. The Great Gatsby, 50.1 mil, 50.1 mil
  3. Pain & Gain, 5.0 mil, 41.6 mil
  4. Peeples, 4.6 mil, 4.6 mil
  5. 42, 4.6 mil, 84.7 mil
  6. Oblivion, 4.1 mil, 81.9 mil
  7. The Croods, 3.6 mil, 173.2 mil
  8. Mud, 2.5 mil, 8.6 mil
  9. The Big Wedding, 2.5 mil, 18.3 mil
  10. Oz The Great and Powerful, 1.1 mil, 230.3 mil
Movie Title, Weekly Earnings, Total Earnings

Movie Trailers

More News Stories >
©2013 Denver Westword, LLC, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places Denver / Boulder

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city

Join
Log In