Lauren Saarimaki in O, Brazen Age.
Something like an edgier, avant-garde version of The Big Chill, the peculiarly poetic first feature from the Canadian writer-director Alexander Carson involves the regathering of a gang of artist friends now in their late 20s, each of them in some degree of hazy existential crisis. The soundtrack is Toronto-set city noise and saxophones, with indie rock occasionally adding grit and intensity. Some of the ensemble-cast on-camera talent is professional, while others are less trained. An awkwardness results. The photography is exquisite and the telling of the story is unusual. O, Brazen Age is about the sadness of a single shoe, the rational fear of dentistry and the audacity of doubt. Mostly, it's about things collected and the big area between the past and future: the never-ending present, or, why not, the Big Still.
Brad Wheeler