Review: One (2000)

This is a Resurfaced review written in 2002 or earlier. For more information, please visit this link: Resurfaced Reviews.

One

Rating

Director

Tony Barbieri

Screenplay

Tony Barbieri, Jason Cairns

Length

1h 42m

Starring

Jason Cairns, Kane Picoy, Autumn Macintosh, Edward Lynch, Gabrielle Ruvolo, Paul Herman, Muhammed Hassan, Willie La Nere, Cassandra Braden, Karah Michaels, , Rainy Jo Stout

MPAA Rating

Not Rated

Review

The best success in life is achieved when you follow your dreams, instead of allowing indecision and lethargy to determine your actions. “One” focuses directly on this idea, forcing viewers to question how they approach their own desires and expectations.

Charlie O’Connell (Jason Cairns) has just gotten out of prison and is about to begin the rest of his life. Before his incarceration, he wasn’t intent on achieving anything. He was an underachiever in school and never amounted to anything, but now wants to go to college and become a teacher.

His roommate, Nick Razca (Kane Picoy), a former baseball player, manages his time by working as a garbage collector. His dreams were crushed through his own incompetence, but after seeing Charlie’s hopes come alive, he decides to re-attempt success in sports.

“One” declares that courage and determination can lead you anywhere you want to go. However, the road to that idea took a long, unsteady route through slow and methodical plotting. Most audiences expect a great deal of action to help movies flow between dramatic moments. “One” doesn’t have that; it is a steady path with limited excitement.

Cairns has potential; he has both the look and sound of a young Christopher Walken, but isn’t as menacing. Picoy goes through the motions never able to rise above mediocrity. His performance is solidly underwhelming. While you can surmise what his character’s supposed to be feeling, it’s never certain if you’re assuming or assured.

Director Tony Barbieri proves that he’s a new director by using unusual techniques to bring “One” to the screen. Several times, he uses a stationary shot while action goes on in front of and behind walls, but still manages to use framing effectively. The editing is flawed, forcing us to watch the same scene for more than a minute without changing camera position or focus. In the end, it makes the film more tedious than the story alone.

Average is the best way to describe this independent film. Although there is intense meaning behind the dialogue and events of the story, “One” skims the surface of a much larger idea. Success in life is difficult to achieve; however hard work, dedication and strong relationships help simplify the experience. Without them, you’re just a husk of existence with little hope of greatness.