Theodore Schaefer’s beautifully quirky debut feature, The Birth of a Butterfly, strikes a balance between tenderness and vague angst, and David Lynch’s work achieves a similar effect. I hate using the word “lynchian”. The term is used frequently and slovenly for films that simply tend to be surrealist. But Schaefer’s films are clearly steeped in American nostalgia and more than deserve that description.
This spooky indie film puts us in a corner of America that doesn’t exist. There, his suburban father Darryl (Paul Sparks) plans to open a diner despite having no money. And a former actress named Monica (Constance Shulman, who played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard) prepares for the big interview that never happens. Across from these tragic figures are Daryl’s wife Diane (Annie Parisse) and Monica’s daughter Marlene (Gus Barney). This her two women are exhausted by the stupidity of her loved ones.
Marlene is pregnant and Diane’s son, boyfriend Drew (Owen Campbell), wants to raise the baby, even though he is not the biological father. Diane, the pharmacist, is furious at the idea. Darryl’s restaurant plans leave the couple pinching pennies, and to make matters worse, Diane soon finds out that her bank account has been depleted by online scammers. She admitted to Marlene that she had been deceived, and she was seduced by a blinding optimism.
The two women track the identity thief, Diane’s computer’s GPS point flashes in the middle of a complete spiral road, leading to a spooky location.
They bond during the drive, but their dizzying conversation works little. Paradoxically, there is little room for ambiguity in cinematographer Matt Clegg’s rich 16mm footage, and the oddities of everyday life (pet fish, spilled fruit, more than one pair of twins). affectionately evoking the The courteous and deliberately formal performance gives the drama a theatrical feel and is in keeping with the film’s ethereal aesthetic. But the forced depth of “Butterfly”‘s script undermines the film’s captivating atmosphere, which drips with melancholy, menace, and wonder.
Birth of a butterfly
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 17 minutes. Watch it on Fandor.
