I just finished screening Strack Azar and Michael Stevantoni’s Death Letter Blues, and I have relatively mixed feelings on the film’s efficacy. The film gets a lot right, but I still have some qualms. The cinematography is really impressive. The filmmakers effectively frame the action in a way that makes it pop off the screen and pull the viewer into the narrative. Additionally, the performances are solid, and the film takes care to pose a lot of interesting questions about religion and justice. However, the flick offers very little in the way of answers. So much so that some of the questions it poses read as muddled or unclear. Not to mention, the pace is really deliberate, making the picture feel longer than its breezy 80-minute runtime.
In addition to sitting at the helm of the flick, Stevantoni and Azar each also take a screenwriting credit. The writer/directors open the proceedings on Father Moss (Sherman Augustus), who is called in to help when an older couple with no children (Ramsay Midwood and Karole Foreman) discovers a feral child (Layton Miller) on their property. From there, we flash forward 11 years. The boy has assimilated into domestic life, but still maintains some of his feral tendencies. When the child turns up dead after attending a party, the priest begins to question whether or not God really has a plan for us.
Father Moss’s crisis of faith is further compounded by a deceased parishioner who leaves him a beloved car and a note confessing to a mortal crime he committed years prior. The two deaths pose a series of questions about faith, redemption, and the consequences of our actions in this life and the next. However, the messaging is so vague that I couldn’t say with any real certainty exactly what the filmmakers are trying to say. They close the film out with a storm of supernatural proportions that seems to suggest that an angry God is displeased. Yet, there are no definitive answers offered. It’s fine to allow the viewer to wrestle with their own interpretations, but so much is left unsaid here that it becomes difficult to interpret some of the overarching themes.
I was also a bit put off by the film’s decidedly slow pace. Death Letter Blues moves really, really slowly, gradually building to an ending that leaves the fate of several key characters unclear. As I was watching, I kept waiting for the film’s slow build to lead somewhere, to make its intentions apparent, and then it just ended.
Perhaps Azar and Stevantoni are more interested in giving us food for thought than clear-cut answers. At the very least, they package the somewhat ambiguous proceedings gorgeously. The film is absolutely beautiful. The scenery is nicely framed and lit, and the locations featured within pop off the screen with vivid brilliance.
Also effective is Augustus as the lead character, Father Moss. The actor vividly conveys a level of inner torment and uncertainty about his faith. The character isn’t overly verbose, leaving a lot unsaid, yet the actor still gives us a window into his soul by way of his pained expressions, tone of voice, body language, and mannerisms.
I see a lot of merit in the film, but I think that Death Letter Blues is ultimately a mixed bag. I was left wanting for more definitive answers, and I wish the deliberate pace had built to a more substantial conclusion. With that said, I think the film still has enough going for it to warrant a watch. You can currently catch the film in select theaters or on VOD.
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