"There Is Nothing Wrong In Sanford" is Nicholas Pilk's eighth feature-length film, and you better be sure you have your seatbelts on because it's a long one. Clocking in at almost 3 hours, this sequel continues the political intrigue and schemes going on in Sanford. It's evident from early scenes that there clearly is ____ wrong there, as the title suggests. We follow an ensemble cast with many character stories that ultimately coincide. There is a strong emphasis on dialogue, with some scenes playing out similarly to a Tarantino film in terms of what beats are hit. The camerawork drifts from documentary-style -- lingering on capturing the town environment or a specific urban feel -- to a traditional wider set-up where Pilk lets scenes breathe. The political thriller genre hasn't been touched upon by the LIF members often, Jacob K. Ebbesen's "Statsminister" trilogy comes to mind as one of the examples. It's not my prefered genre as I often find myself lost in discussions about ideology and politics as a topic. Although as I kept watching this film I found myself intrigued by the mystery of a supernatural or folklore element to the story. Curtis Hubbard portrays Aldo Folcher, a mob type of guy whose appearance has a strong "Peaky Blinders" vibe. There is much more to this character than initially expected and I was interested to find out more about him and this "mythical" presence. It might sound odd, but Pilk manages to make it work with a few twists and turns. Other standouts include Senator Preston Conrad (Blake Roberson) and Thomas Liskeard (Nicholas Pilk) who have a substantial amount of monologues, switching from funny banter to angry rants. It's also surprising how dark the film can get. The violence is handled in a way where the implications are more disturbing than what's on screen. Still shocking whenever a murder scene happens, as the can seemingly happen when you least expect it.
I admire the ambition of the filmmaking here. The story is quite complex and there's a whole underlying mythology to the Diegesis (the world where the film is set). Unfortunately, the film has some audio issues. It's a common struggle to capture the sound when filming outdoors, lots of wind or background noise can get in the way. Here we have a story that you gotta pay close attention to in order to not feel lost. That's an element I can see being improved with future projects. Thankfully I respect the actors for speaking clearly and articulating their lines throughout the rougher audio scenes. I would also advise for less contrast in some of the imagery and to work on lighting the characters during night scenes. However, I did appreciate Pilk's blocking when working with silhouette shots. Overall, to me, this was an interesting introduction to Pilk Films. I'm excited to see where their ambition takes them as I can tell they are daredevils of filmmaking. Getting out there in COVID times (even letting it be a part of the narrative) and just going for this grand political web of clashing bantering characters.
