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Review: Eating Buccaneers Director/writer: Bill Keenan Genre: Comedy Drama Starring: Peter Keleghan, Leah Pinsent, Shannon Beckner, Steven McCarthy, Jeff White, Neil Crone and a cameo by Gordon Pinsent Producers: Mark Montefiore, Jennifer Mesich, Bill & Tracey Keenan (Exec. Prod.) Director of Photography: Wes Legge Editor: Andy Ames Composer: Ari Posner. By Don Young A tranquil forest scene: a woman, Andrea (Shannon Beckner), runs towards the camera. She stops, looks around and vomits. The beginning of a horror film based on The Exorcist? She clears her throat and spits, opening an hilarious comedy, created and directed by Bill Keenan. It follows the survival trek of a group of people after the crash of a small plane on a flight to Toronto. The rest of the group includes Jerry, the ad agency VP (Peter Keleghan), Vanessa, art director (Leah Pinsent), Doug, the copywriter (Jeff White), and Stewart, the client brand manager (Steve McCarthy). Neil Crone, another extremely capable performer of the A-list Canadian cast, ably plays the pilot, presumed dead. The serenity of the forest provides the perfect backdrop for the comedic talents of the actors to blossom. The cinematography of Wes Legge is fantastic, surely making this 88-minute movie one the best looking to be seen on screen this year. The editing by Andy Ames and the music of Ari Posner are equal to the best anywhere, and make for a movie that should be seen by everyone over the age of fifteen. There are many other excellent qualities displayed in this movie. It’s like all of the talents of the people came together to craft a feature that demonstrates the best ability of local cast and crew. So, to continue the story, the crash has left the characters with a case of bottled water and a box of the new product, Buccaneer Bars - “It’ll plunder your hunger.” They divide these and return to the plane to scavenge it for matches or other things to help in their attempt at survival and rescue. While there, the previously considered dead pilot returns to life, although still seriously injured. Do they take him along or leave him to die? Jerry is especially anxious to get back to civilization. Is there something he’s not disclosing? What secrets are the others hiding? Each of the travelers exposes something of themselves on the five-day journey back to civilization. At the end of the journey, they are much more honest with themselves and each other, while a six-pack of professional actors has entertained the audience with drama and laughter. Each is a talent on their own; as a troupe they provide a performance seldom seen on the big screen. Eating Buccaneers is a low budget movie, made with high standards. There is no plane crash seen, just the damaged plane after the crash. There are no special effects, nor complex action scenes. It is a story told through the actions and words of the characters, all performing their own stunts. Some might compare it to “The Blair Witch Project” as both are first projects for the producer/directors. One is about a group coming into the woods and trying to return while the other is about a group trying to get out of them. Blair Witch, fiction filmed like a documentary, was a mixture of SD video and 16 mm black and white film with amateur production values. Eating Buccaneers is a fictional comedy/drama filmed professionally on HD video. They are both independent features created through the determination of their creators. Eating Buccaneers is a lot more fun to watch. Neither is a true story. It makes one happy to see a good movie featuring some of the best actors this area has to offer. At the same time it’s frustrating to know it will not get the theatre play like the American movies made on large budgets, or even similar screenings to the Quebec movies that receive great support in their local markets. If you get the opportunity to see this movie, take it. If enough people see it, perhaps it will get the recognition it deserves. (DISCLAIMER: While I make no apology for my bias towards Canadian cast and crews, and especially in favour of independent Canadian productions, I do have to admit I saw this movie being filmed while being a part of the crew that made it. If you feel my review of the movie as screened is unfair, please see the movie and judge it for yourself.)     Cast from L to R are: Jeff White, Peter Keleghan, Bill Keenan, Tracy Keenan, Leah Pinsent, Shannon Beckner, Steven McCarthy and Neil Crone.        |