Moss

A southern Gothic coming of age story about a boy who grew up with only the memory of his mother on his eighteenth birthday.

I really like this film. I was just thinking not too long ago about how there aren't that many good southern Gothic films, and here is one. Not completely perfect, mind you, but definitely good enough to give a high recommendation. The cinematography is gorgeous. The story has a clear beginning, middle and end. The protagonist goes on a very serious and important journey. It does feel slow, but after a while I realized that things are just slower in the south, especially in the country. Real things that matter actually happen in this film. My only criticism is that the interaction between the boy and the father feels like they are just reading lines to each other. But luckily, those scenes are few and far between. When he talks to the love interest and his best friend, and when the father talks to potential business clients and fishing buddies, it feels fine. I think these types of southern Gothic films should be encouraged. It's this kind of spiritual journey, rather than Hollywood gross out remakes, that America should be better known for in the film industry throughout the world. If done really well, they can compete with the Australian noirs set in the Outback and the Russian or Scandinavian spiritual journeys set in the remote north. The director/writer Daniel Peddle is young, and I hope to see a lot more from him. He could be the next Jeff Nichols.