SLIFF 2010 Review: A MARINE STORY

A MARINE STORY takes a story as old as movies itself and gives it  a fresh new spin. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES  through IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH have explored the theme of  soldiers returning home. This time the focus is a female soldier and a military policy that has been much in the news in the last few years.

Alexandra Everett (Dreya Weber) is a career marine who return to her rural, dusty California hometown after a log hitch in the Middle East. After getting off the train with no one to welcome her back , she walks through the streets and sees all the boarded up businesses. Stopping at a convenience store she forcibly detains a young man shoplifting while his girlfriend who was distracting the clerk takes off. The local sheriff  chastises Alex for getting involved, although they are severely understaffed and can’t handle the new scourge of small towns: meth addicts. On the way to the family home, Alex buys an old convertible in need of restoration. The old homestead is empty and up for sale as her Dad has moved to Florida. The next day Alex is visited by the sheriff and the young female accomplice from the convenience store. He explains that Saffron (Paris Pickard) will face a long stretch in jail unless she is accepted into the military. Alex reluctantly agrees to get her ready to visit the recruiter. That night Alex meets an old high school boyfriend, Leo (Anthony Michael Jones) at a local bar. After a few drinks, a brawl erupts between Alex and some of Leo’s buddies who challenge her. In between training Saffron, Alex visits her old high school girlfriend Holly (Christine Mourad) and reveals that the real reason for her homecoming is that she was ousted for being a lesbian. Later that night Alex meets up with one of Holly’s girlfriends and are secretly photographed by someone from Alex’s hometown. What will happen when these photos are spread over town? How will it affect the vulnerable Saffron?

A MARINE STORY  is anchored by the strong performance of Weber in the lead. She has a strong physical presence in the big action scenes (the training, the barroom brawl, and at a paintball field). She has a great rapport with all the actors particularly Pickard as the emotionally damaged Saffron. Director Ned Farr keeps the film moving and captures the feel of a sleepy, dying little town. The movie’s not preachy but really shows the devastating impact the “don’t ask, don’t tell”  policy has had.A well done thought provoking  intimate of a modern woman in the military.

A MARINE STORY will play during the 19th Annual Stella Artois St. Louis Film Festival on Saturday, November 13th at 7:15 pm and Monday, November 15th at 5:00 pm at the Tivoli Theatre.