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Franklin Roew is the best wine salesman in the Yakima Valley, has a beautiful girlfriend, and he is headed for a complete mental breakdown. His childhood home is nearing foreclosure, hates his job, has just made friends with the very man having an affair with that same girlfriend, and his new roommate has a love for causing him chaos. Something has to give.
This is the setup for ‘Cement Suitcase’, the new independent film from director J. Rick Castaneda. It would be easy to assume, based on the description, that this would be just another ‘quirky’ sendup that is very prominent with independent cinema these days. Thankfully, Castaneda injects the realness necessary to bring the audience along for Franklin’s journey, and keep us interested in the ride.
That real world honesty begins and ends with Dwayne Bartholomew as Franklin. His character is a man who has all but given up the possibilities of life after his mother passed away, and instead has relegated himself to his current station. In short, he is most of us. Franklin is not a character who bounces endlessly through the frame offering nonsensical quips in an attempt to falsely charm us, Bartholomew turns him into a man we all could relate to.
When Franklin drags himself to his job at the local winery, he does what many of us do every day – He puts on a face. He becomes what is necessary to get wine out the door, without once ceasing to watch the clock. Unhappy with his own lot in life, he convinces customers to leave their own and open themselves up to the dream-like possibilities anonymity can bring. This is his only escape.
He is also fully aware of his girlfriend’s infidelity, yet refuses to do anything about it for the true fear of losing her. When Brad (Shawn Parsons), his girlfriend’s secret lover, finds his way into Franklin’s life, he is powerless to address the situation, as many of us would be. Bartholomew carries the film on his shoulders admirably and creates a performance in truism unique to this genre.
The other standout is Nathan Sapsford as Jackford, Franklin’s new roommate. Jackford could easily be that quirky Owen Wilson type who shows up simply to wreak havoc while teaching our hero the valuable lesson about being true to yourself. Instead, we get a man who is a little off his rocker, yet his appreciation for life is a quiet reflection of the evaluation to which Franklin pays his wine.
As his girlfriend, Charlene, Kristina Guerrero (E! News) has the undesirable task of portraying a somewhat duplicitous character, yet one you can understand and sympathize with and she is surprisingly effective. Her eventual confrontation with her situation goes in unexpected ways and it was refreshing to see it not handled as a cheesy Lifetime moment.
Cement Suitcase is not without its misses, the film does go on a hair too long and one storyline in particular rang false with this reviewer, yet can understand why the filmmakers chose to go that direction. Yet, these are relatively minor missteps and neither negate the honestly director J. Rick Castaneda manages to inflect. Overall, this is a fun and clever film with heart and a winning performance from its lead. Cement Suitcase is easily worthy of a taste.
If $10 is full price of admission, Cement Suitcase is worth $6
Cement Suitcase is now available on VOD at iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and other outlets, as well as select theaters nationwide.
Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider