Fresh and Exciting

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I'm writing this because I got sucked into seeing this mess by the absurd reviews (written by the filmmaker's mother perhaps) praising this stinker of a grade Z movie.The entire 105 minutes takes place with 3 persons in one room of a cheap motel, and will involve more blood and guts than any Clint Eastwood western. None of the three have any redeeming qualities, none of the three are attractive to look at, even without the blood.The movie reeks of stupidity. Shots are fired and there's lots of screaming, but this attracts no attention. The #2 guy wants to order food, but can't because the phone doesn't work. It doesn't work because the girls legs are tied with the phone cord. She's handcuffed to the bedpost, but guy #2 can't figure out he can untie her legs, reconnect the cord, order, and eat.Even in 2010, a year when stupid movies abound -- particularly the amply stupid "Inception" -- this 2007 mess stands out.

This was a really low-budget indie, with just 3 actors and one set - a motel room. But Sympathy is also a good example of how a low budget doesn't necessarily mean a bad movie.I was quite surprised to like this movie, since it started off kinda shrieky annoying. It's about a guy who takes a girl hostage while on the lam from some bank robbery job, and who in turn gets also taken hostage when an escaped convict happens upon the both of them. Or so it began, before secrets unraveled and it turned out that nothing was as it seemed. So the movie's kind of a psychological thriller, and the actors, though unknown, are all pretty good. I like how the characters were developed, and I thought them and the story pretty plausible too. And the ending's a doozy.

Andrew Moorman is a new name to motion picture directing, but it's a name you should remember. Andrew has created a film that Alfred Hitchcock himself would admire, a study in people over their heads in a situation way beyond their control, a situation that their inexperience in crime and life only worsens.Moorman used a single motel room (and, a few times, its bathroom), but it's not anything you'd recognize in, say, the Courtyard by Marriott. This was one of those old, 1930s, row units that remain on U.S. routes, far away from interstate highways. This location gave the movie a threatening, uncomfortable feel that Moorman exploited to its fullest. Hitchcock's 'Psycho' obviously came to mind. Since 'Psycho', there's been nothing like a cheap motel to set everyone's nerves on edge.Moorman's direction and editing were very impressive for a first-timer. His use of reaction shots and odd camera angles added significant tension to a story already loaded with shot nerves. He drew the best out of his three principals, especially the alluring Marina Shtelen, who truly knows how to use her face and eyes to get across significant emotion, although Shtelen used her dialog convincingly. She, too, is a name to watch.The movie's sound was something special, particularly the storm brewing behind the viewer in the rear channels. You want to turn around to acknowledge the storm, but you're afraid that when you turn back around someone will have a knife pointing at your nose! This is a must-see movie that will be featured this coming July in Indianapolis. Drive, fly, walk if you must to see this film there, but just be careful if you stay in a cheap motel!

I just finished watching a screener DVD of Sympathy and I was left floored. I grew up a couple of houses down from director Andrew Moorman, so I was anxious to see what a kid from my hometown could do if he were given a chance to break away from a small berg in Ohio.Wow. Just... wow. This is a chilling and often disturbing character study that could have easily been nothing more than a bad student film. But thanks to Moorman's eye for excellent photography and ability to direct his actors, Arik Martin's riveting script and the cast's brutal, naked honesty in their portrayals, this film stands among the best first efforts from any director. If you liked Reservoir Dogs, you'll love Sympathy.Sympathy is Hitchcock's Rope for the 21st century. The entire movie is shot in one hotel room and has only three actors. The story grows deliciously claustrophobic as the trio continues to chew and gnaw at each other's psyches, culminating into some "Holy sh*t!" moments later in the film. Again, the story is sharp, witty and holds the audience's attention. But what impressed me the most was Moorman's use of a seemingly endless amount of shots that kept the claustrophobic setting alive. Where Hitchcock used protracted, contemplative photography in Rope, Moorman edited his film so that it was a rusty shiv constantly swiping at the audience until the end when it severs the Jugular.The only complaint that I can register for Sympathy is a matter of logic that comes up late in the film. I cannot go into more detail without spoiling the ending. However, the rest of the film is so solid that I am willing to overlook it.Watch out for Andrew Moorman because if Sympathy is any indication, he is ready to take on Hollywood. Do yourself a favor and go out of your way to see this film. Because when Moorman is making successful, critically acclaimed films in the coming years, you can brag to your friends that you were a fan of Moorman's before he was famous.