Visit ‘Maysville’- a Thriller for the Whole Family (Movie Review)
Maysville
Rating: 8/10
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlciSQOHBcg
Director & Screenwriter: Leslie Goyette
Style: Family Drama Thriller
Time: 114 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Official Site: maysvillethemovie.com
Review by Mike Szymanski
I really hate to call this a perfect family drama, but that is exactly what “Maysville” is. The reason why I hate to call it that is because it’s a label that immediately turns off some people, and most of the time it would turn me off. But instead, this movie hooked me in and captured my attention and heart all the way through from beginning to end.
There’s enough edge-of-your-seat tension for the adults, as well as relatable characters for young adults and children, and a lack of unnecessary over-the-top violence or swearing that may upset the grandparents. It’s a movie for everyone.
What a luscious and sweet surprise from a first-time director who certainly will be launching more movies after this strong successful debut. Director Leslie Goyette has four other movies in the works. One of her two acting sons, Holden, is featured in the film.
The movie takes place in 1929 in Appalachia and is narrated by a young boy who just turns 13. The younger version of Teddy is delightfully portrayed by Holden Goeyette, an actor known for his role in Z Nation and Zila and Zoe. His best friend is Willie Stamper (portrayed by a young and cute Forrest Campbell) and they are shown playing together in the farmland, swimming in the local pond in their long underwear, and getting into typical boyish mischief. At one point, Teddy even baptizes his friend Willie in the lake.
Fairly quickly, we know that Willie’s father is rather abusive and there’s a reason why the boys’ fathers don’t get along, but no one seems to talk about it. Then, Teddy’s father is killed in a freak railroad accident and Willie and Teddy get even closer.
The movie is filled with stunning camerawork of farmland in Washington state — in a rural area of Chehalis and Centralia, which ironically is between the homes of producer Michele Englehart and director Leslie Goeyette.
Maysville is actually in Kentucky, where Leslie grew up when she was younger, and in a place that her mother used to say was “so deep in the woods that we had to pipe in sunshine.”
That’s the feeling you get with this movie. It’s repressive, and overwhelming dark, and a place where Willie wants to escape from really bad, especially from his father.
A tractor accident happens and Teddy is blamed for the death of his best friend. Willie’s father is the ultimate bad guy, played relentlessly and horrifyingly by Brian Sutherland (whom you can see with Nicolas Cage in “Pig.”) When Willie’s father (whose name is Buck) speaks and slyly threatens nearly everyone in the movie, it is chilling and haunting. He is frightening.
That’s why when Buck literally kidnaps Teddy to replace his son, and makes him sleep in a barn, it’s even more chilling and repressive. Teddy’s widowed mother gets little help from the police, and Teddy says he wants to stay there because his mother and sisters were threatened by Buck.
Skip four years later and Teddy is now being played by Kevin Mayr, also known as Kevin R. James. This actor is movie-star handsome, and he is fantastic at turning from a pitiful victim to a charming polite stranger carrying secrets. He escapes from his captor but can’t find his mom and sisters. His mother is played by Trin Miller who worked in “Captain Fantastic” opposite Vigo Mortensen in his Oscar-nominated performance. She changes dramatically as all the pressures of life fall on her.
Teddy falls for a local shop clerk named Elizabeth (portrayed by Cheyenne Barton who is stunning as a quiet girl with a wild side.) But, Teddy can’t be happy until he deals with his demons. He is haunted by the vision of his friend and also by the real image of his friend’s father.
Probably the most recognizable in the cast is Russell Hodgkinson who was the lovable Doc in “Z Nation” and plays an equally lovable guy who takes Teddy under his wing and gives him a job.
Some predictable clashes occur, and this small film is filled with surprising twists and turns all the way through. Sometimes you are wondering “how can this happen?” and you think it may be because of the time period, but then all is eventually explained and it makes sense.
The making of this movie is a story in itself. The director got funding on IndieGoGo and that helped them get other sponsorships.
The music by Christopher Kennedy is beautiful and impressive, almost reminiscent of Kevin Costner’s “if you build it they will come” movie “Field of Dreams.”
As a family film, of course there are some caveats, and some very disturbing scenes in the movie not appropriate for children of young ages. When Buck makes them open the casket of his son during the funeral, or tries to kill Teddy, those scenes chilled me to the bone, even to the point that the phrase “don’t break my yolk” will always be threatening to me.
This film came to fruition by the passion of two women who didn’t know how to make a period thriller picture. Now, their movie is being distributed internationally and it’s available on some streaming sites.
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