The Unknown Country

Sometimes movies can be too personal.

I saw the writer/director of "The Unknown Country," Morissa Maltz, talk about her film after a showing at Chicago's Music Box Theater. She was inspired by her own experiences driving across the country as a lone female, and the fear and exhilaration that experience made her feel. In the movie, the main character is traveling from Minnesota to Texas to stand in the same spot as her recently deceased grandmother did in a cherished photo. Maltz also did this. Any of this could be used to craft a relatable, more universal narrative that would resonate with audiences, but Maltz doesn't do that here. This film never feels like it gets out of her head. We don't learn much of anything about the main character other than her grandmother died, which, sure, is something to grieve over, especially if she had a large role in raising you, but still, isn't a dramatic conflict on which to hang an entire movie. Much of the dialogue was unscripted, apparently, and it shows. There are a lot of meandering, banal conversations.

Mostly, I just didn't care about this protagonist. We all lose our grandparents. It's something we are primed for and that's part of the natural order. I don't like to use the word boring to describe art, because it's lazy, but sometimes it just fits. This movie and this character were boring.

Grade: B-