10 Items or Less - 2006 - Film

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

I snuck into an early screening of 10 Items or Less (in theaters December 1st), the new indie flick from director Brad Silberling, who is most recently known for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Moonlight Mile (2002), and City of Angels (1998). As I filter through the press packet the bio section has no mention of Mr. Silberling's directorial contributions to the 1994 series The Byrds of Paradise--a credit for which I know him better, since I haven't seen any of his movies.

I hope someone out there in Blog Land remembers that TV show, it was with Seth Green and Jennifer Love Hewitt, who played brother and sister in a Hawaiian teen/family drama. It was profound stuff for my 14-year-old self, but I bet it wouldn't pack the same punch all these years later. My main point in mentioning the above TV show is primarily for the sake of my own nostalgia, but it also shows the background that the director Mr. Silberling had before testing out indie waters.

10 Items or Less is about an actor, "him" who is played by Morgan Freeman, a character in the film who is famous in Hollywood, but who has been out of work for four years. To get the momentum back in his career he tries out a small indie picture, which at the very least keeps him busy for a few weeks. On this point, the movie is probably a bit autobiographical for Mr. Silberling, who also wrote (and co-produced) the film.

The story begins as Mr. Freeman's character visits a bodega in a working class area of L.A. to research his role. There, he meets Scarlet (Paz Vega), the head checker of the "10 items or less" lane. After a small series of mishaps the two are inconveniently stuck with one another for the afternoon. It is a simple plot from there. They each spend a lot of time listening to one another while touring through mundane daily activities. Scarlet takes "him" to the local Target store in one scene, where he stands in slack-jawed awe of the low prices, "$8 for a designer t-shirt!" A marvel for a guy wearing a tee retailed at more than ten times that price. The story isn't particularly exciting, but the interactions between these two strangers is delicate and kind. It isn't a movie I plan to buy or watch again, but it was a pleasant time in the theater where I felt a kind of priviledge to watch these two people simply be together.

10 Items or Less opens on December 1, 2006 in select cities.