Written and directed by Zach Flanary, George, a heroin-addicted chess hustler who sleeps in the park outside of the Section 8 housing where 12-year-old Vivienne lives, helps her prepare for a screen test through street schemes as rehearsals, forging a bond built on chaos. Starring: Ragan Flanary, Zach Flanary, Mary Elizabeth, Cody McBride, Alana Hall, Matty Clark and David Waddle.
We’ve seen addiction explored in a lot of film and television, but arguably for a good deal of that the representation is almost interchangeable from one to the next, so it’s always refreshing to see a filmmaker switch up the perspective, which is what Zach Flanary does with Gifts of Disposition. Primarily, that’s because Flanary crafts the film to see George (played by writer, director Flanary) as a person, not an addict, it’s about who he is and his actions, not his drug use, and his unexpected connection with Vivienne (Ragan Flanary).
Gifts of Disposition almost feels like it’s coming from Vivienne’s perspective, as it has that openness and empathy of childhood, the tone isn’t marred by disillusionment, even if it does take some harsher turns. Those choices allow it to build a natural feel and a vein of sincerity, which in turn creates a casual, growing sadness to the film. It’s not throwing the harshness in your face but rather letting you see the goodness in these characters and organically gain that apprehension at the potentially harmful fate which may await them.
Another part of building that atmosphere is the visual style, as soon as you enter Gifts of Disposition you’re hit with this 1970s style, throwing back to the low-key gritty dramas of that era. It was a great choice as it works really well with this story, especially paired with the cinematography from Kiefer Brenneman. The colouring has a good kick of contrast, the movement can occasionally be a little erratic but that befits the tone, and the pacing and progression work well.
There are issues with the sound quality, the mixing isn’t as natural as it could be and needs some fine tuning, as do the visual and transitions at times, but they’re minimal issues, especially for a debut feature on a budget, it’s just a little rough around the edges. However, there are some great music choices, and the energy nicely gets bigger when they bring through a hustler feel later on.
A natural element which Gifts of Disposition does very well is the performances. Zach Flanary gives the impression of being completely at ease as George, creating this free spirit who rolls with the punches. The connection he creates with Ragan Flanary’s Vivienne is surprisingly wholesome and charming, yet not necessarily sweet, there’s still an element of danger there.
As Vivienne, Flanary brings through a familiar personality, the survivor, with all of those strident, strong, determined qualities but she also captures the naivety, insecurity and fear of her youth, which is very well done. The two of them make for an endearing pair, and Zach Flanary keeps a good sense of realism, he doesn’t make the film feel like because George has made friends with Vivienne, and she’s showed him some good in the world, that he’s going to miraculously change. An aspect which is another key element to Gifts of Disposition crafting its sincerity.
Gifts of Disposition as a debut feature from Zach Flanary holds a lot of purposeful, thoughtful choices. He portrays addicts in a different light, not losing the rippling consequences of addiction, but choosing to focus on the bigger picture, the good along with the bad. There are some rough edges which come from being a debut, and one on a microbudget, the sound in particular needs work, but they don’t detract from what Flanary is attempting to do with this film. His performance and Ragan Flanary’s are nicely natural, they create an organic connection, they’re easy to watch and build a touching friendship. It’s quietly layered with the sadness and foreshadowing of addiction. The direction can favour the closeup a little too much at times, but Flanary also makes a good effort to build that scrappy, hustler persona into the style. It’s a strange kind of adventure, one with more realism and struggle, with a lighter but effective grit and a chaotic charm.
Excellent review!
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