You Got Nothin'

Philip Angelotti and Steven Langa bring likable characters and beautifully executed comedy segments to their first rate debut effort. One memorable scene supports this comment nicely. Philip plays Joey, a not-so-bright debt collector for the mob. Joey is given an unpleasant assignment from his mob boss played by Joseph Cortese. The scene opens with a couple grieving over a deceased relative. The couple is in no hurry to pay their respects and move on. The camera catches the couple in the foreground of the frame and the viewing audience focuses on their performance. Seconds later, Joey's head pops up in the background of the frame as he waits impatiently to carry out his assignment. The timing is perfect and the subtle comedic element works very well.

The screenplay is better than many films that Hollywood cranks out. The story has sub plots that remain interesting and important throughout the entire run. They produced this film in digital high definition format. The DVD copy that I viewed was clear and the colors were bright and natural. It didn't appear that the lighting and cinematography were a challenge although there was no need to create stunning visuals to tell this story. Most of the scenes had a gritty urban setting.

I thought Brian McNamara was too handsome to be the bad guy in this film. His performance was good but I could not lose that pretty boy image when his character reached his lowest point in the third act. Rachel Langa stole this one. I believe she was only twelve when she played this role. This was her acting debut and she nailed it. Her father, Steven Langa, should be very proud.

I recommend this film highly. I viewed this film at the 2004 California Independent Film Festival in the beautiful Livermore wine country. Bravo to Philip, Steven, the entire cast and crew and all the staff at the festival.