Fisherman’s Wharf

The reviews are in and they look pretty good. Critics have described the movie as ‘darkly funny’, ‘Maine by way of Fargo‘, comparing it favorably to the Coen Brother’s classic and as a ‘splendid Downeast noir’ At ninety minutes, this low-budget independent film enjoys the benefit of little competition on its opening weekend. Anne and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film and not simply because of our familial connection with the project. Our son Dan is the credited set dresser for the film. One of his most notable contributions was the design and construction of a plywood sign of a lobsterman dubbed Captain Dick. In the opening fifteen minutes it is destroyed in a car crash, but by Dan’s telling that scene was filmed near the end of filming. Anyway, we found this short little movie to be quite captivating and it certainly took our minds off of things.

Man Down is a murder mystery set in the fictional Maine fishing village of Easter Cove. As a mystery, it is not as much about who-done-it, but rather, do they get away with it. Except for a Greek chorus of rubber clad fisherman and a few other two-dimensional male characters, most of the cast is female. The two Connolly sisters are the leads. We first meet them as they host their mother’s funeral, but a quartet of AARP eligible women do much of the show’s heavy lifting and give the show much of its gravitas. Try it, you’ll like it.