[yasr_overall_rating]
A grieving couple retreats to a remote Bahamian island where they become entangled in a dangerous turf war between the island’s mayor and a greedy human trafficker.
Logan Sandler, whose directorial feature, “Live Cargo,” hit theaters this past Friday, could be compared to that of filmmaker Terrence Malick. For many, that could be taken as a compliment but if you have seen any of Malick’s recent films, “Song to Song,” “Knight of Cups,” or “The Tree of Life,” it’s obvious that while the man is very adept at attracting A-list names to his movies, his directing capabilities have a lot to be desired. While his films are always very picturesque and beautifully framed, they constantly inhabit an overabundance of philosophical and spiritual overtones, and while this might sound great on paper, after its adaptation to the big screen, you realize its cinematic counterpart, leaves you feeling very empty. “Live Cargo” follows suit but because it’s Logan Sandler’s feature film debut, there is plenty of time for him to grow into that role, so I will be very interested to see what he does next.
“Live Cargo” follows a young man and woman, Nadine and Lewis (Dree Hemingway & Lakeith Stanfield), who after the loss of their infant child, decide to take some time for themselves to heal and move back to Lewis’ home, an island in the Bahamas. While grieving, their lives interact with a plethora of other characters who live there, mainly that of a young American man, Myron (Sam Dillon), who apparently hasn’t gotten over the heartache of breaking up with his girlfriend, Roy (Robert Wisdom), the town’s mayor, and Doughboy (Leonard Earl Howze), a local fisherman who is also a human trafficker and who illegally transports refugees from Haiti to the island’s mainland. These lives, plus many others, intertwine on a daily basis and while the makings of a good story are in there, somewhere, the finished result is a somewhat muddled affair. While each of the characters gets their time in the spotlight, the human element is lost in translation as the movie is quickly taken over by the visual aspect, and while the cinematography is, at times, breathtakingly striking, it eventually becomes a character throughout the story, literally chewing up the scenery around the actors, and making you forget the human representations. Observe a dilapidated fishing boat sail seamlessly by in glorious black and white, or examine a drop of water during a thunderstorm that so badly wants to let go of its overhead balcony, or numerous shots of slow-motion waves crashing against each other, the list goes on, and so does the film. Cinematographer Daniella Nowitz gives the story visual aesthetic most filmmakers would die for but they must have had a mesmerizing effect on director Logan Sandler, who instead of using them sparingly, to help one scene transition to the next, extended them to the point of ad nauseam.
The emotional aspect of the movie becomes so entangled with the cinematic element, you find yourself being dragged in two completely different directions. While everything looks gorgeous in grainy black and white, it continuously takes away from everything else. In fact, with all of the turmoil each character is experiencing, the only real empathy we feel towards anybody, is at the end of the film, when we experience the aftermath of a small boat that capsized during a hurricane, and which happened to be carrying a group of illegal immigrants. In this instance, Mr. Sandler sensibly forgoes his now-customary camera angles and instead, shoots it almost documentary style, making us feel like we are right there with the characters onscreen. As an indie filmmaker for over thirty years, I am almost fighting with myself at the fact that I am criticizing some absolutely beautiful camerawork but in that time, I have realized, that if you want to present an emotional body of work to the world, then concentrate on the drama at hand, everything else is secondary. Mr. Sandler has made a very competent and visually-striking first feature, where he goes from here, I cannot wait to see.
Now playing in select theaters
