Frownland
Directed by Ronald Bronstein • 2007 • United States
Starring Dore Mann, Mary Wall, Carmine Marino
A nightmare transmission from the grungiest depths of the New York indie underground, the visceral, darkly funny, and totally sui generis debut feature from Ronald Bronstein is a dread-inducing vision of misfit alienation at its unhinged extreme. In a maniacal performance of almost frightening commitment, Dore Mann plays Keith, a disturbingly maladjusted social outcast and self-described “troll” whose neuroses plunge him into an unstoppable spiral of self-obliteration as his crummy coupon-selling job, pitiful living situation (featuring the roommate from hipster Brooklyn hell), and last remaining human relationships disintegrate around him. As captured in the grimy expressionist grain of Sean Price Williams’s claustrophobic camera work, FROWNLAND is DIY cinema at its most fearless, uncompromising, and unforgettable.
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Frownland
Directed by Ronald Bronstein • 2007 • United States
Longtime Safdie brothers collaborator Ronald Bronstein has described his lone directorial effort as "a rotten egg lobbed with bad aim at the silver screen." Be forewarned: audience response has been intensely divided. FROWNLAND has garnered bot...
Extras
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Ronald Bronstein Interview
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FROWNLAND Director's Statement, 2008
“I was always opposed to giving orientation to an audience before a screening. My face, my voice, my thoughts on the movie: who cares? But I was obligated to make something to precede a run in Canada and landed on this: a re-creation of a public access show I caught on television as a kid compose...
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FROWNLAND Deleted Scene: Analysis Take 3
“For this scene, I hired a real psychoanalyst and subjected Dore Mann to a one-hour session in character. I’ve been asked, ‘Why is Keith so articulate here?’ The answer is simple. The analyst is the only person in the movie predisposed to let him speak. If the other characters weren’t so driven t...
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FROWNLAND Deleted Scene: Multiple Sclerosis Association
“This sequence is a good indication of the kind of movie we were making when we started shooting. The cast and crew were all in love with one another. It warped the material. Made it funnier, more playful. To this day, my hackles go up whenever I hear about people having too much fun making a mov...
