In the paper this week, I laid out my general enthusiasms for the Triple Dare Reading Series, the new joint venture from the IPRC and Reading Frenzy that kicks off tomorrow night at the Someday Lounge. But I want to draw a little extra attention to Apart from That, a fantastic movie from two Mt Vernon filmmakers that will be featured at the event. An indie feature in the truest sense, Apart from That got really great reviews and reactions when it was screened at festivals like SIFF, SXSW, and CineVegas and even prompted Variety film critic Robert Koehler to proclaim it his favorite American film of 2006. But when it didn’t get picked up by a distributor, directors Randy Walker and Jennifer Shainin took matters into their own hands and began a DIY distro campaign that included a seriously handsome book/DVD/soundtrack combo-pack. The buzz is growing, helped, undoubtedly, by repeated praise from Wholphin.

Apart from That shares many concerns with twee cinema standbys like Me & You and Thumbsucker, particularly its cast of eccentric characters and their lives of quiet desperation. But there’s very, very little that’s twee about Apart from That: In a style that many have compared (lazily, perhaps, but not inaccurately) to Cassavettes, Walker and Shainin use non-professional actors, rely heavily on improvised dialogue, and use a camera style that borrows from documentary and Dogma 95. It took me a few minutes to determine that it wasn’t in fact, a documentary; the opening party scene, which features at least a dozen “actors” is perfectly executed and captures moments of startling originality.

At one point in the movie’s early (very documentary-feeling) minutes, the camera zooms in on a man speaking earnestly and softly to an ticked off-looking adolescent boy as the party continues around them. “I’m sorry if what I did upset or angered you. Do you forgive me?” The boy scowls at him. “Do you want to see a picture of my ex-wife?” the man asks. Unimpressed, the kid asks why he’d want to do that. Cackling, the man sweetens the deal: “Because she’s naked.”

Moments like this abound in Apart from That. Characters zig when you expect them to zag; humor is mined from the pathology of ordinary existence in hick outposts like Mt Vernon; the screen is filled with people of all ages and ethnicities and few of them look like the folks in most movies. This is the kind of movie that people who love the PDX Film Fest, Old Joy, or the Criterion Collection should really enjoy.

There are a few moments where the movie gets a little self-aware and ventures into more traditional twee realms, but not many. Unfortunately, the movie trailer and the few official YouTube excerpts spotlight those, probably because they trigger that Pavlovian “Juno” knee jerk. So I’m not going to post those here. The directors did, however, create an odd little film/ad highlighting the Apart from That DVD/book thing that gives a much clearer idea of what the film is like. Check it out:

Clocking in at just over two hours, Apart from That won’t be shown in its entirety tomorrow night, but the filmmakers will present key clips and talk about their experience in making it. And I have a hunch they’ll have a few of those nifty DVDs to sell to anyone who wants to see the entire thing.