Long December (2024)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on October 6, 2024 @ tonymacklin.net.
Creative people are dreamers.
I don't mean the wanna-bes. I mean the folks with actual talent.
Indie filmmakers go on a journey of pitfalls and illusions. How do they get budgets and marketing? How do they get their film seen?
Many of the indie filmmakers - whose first film I reviewed favorably - never make a second film. They come to the realization that they can't get the opportunity for success no matter how much they try.
They have to give up their dream.
These days I'm inundated with requests for reviews by indie filmmakers. Most I simply have to decline.
What again brings this all into focus for me is a request for a review from Thomas Torrey of his new film Long December.
Eight years ago I reviewed Fare (2016), written, directed, and acted in by Torrey. I called Fare "a step forward. An indie step."
Almost a decade later, Torrey is back with another indie, budgeted at $300k.
Torrey has evolved into a strong filmmaker. He is gifted and smart. He has delegated well: cinematography by Chris Calnin in his initial film, and casting. Stephen Williams, his leading actor, exudes humanity. This time the married couple (Williams and Emily Althaus) have credibility and chemistry lacking in his first film.
But he still faces an unwelcoming marketplace.
Long December is the story of Gabe Lowell (Williams) a singer/song writer who left his band and went solo. He and his wife had a baby. His wife (Althaus) still is supportive, but his followers on social media have plummeted. He has a part-time job playing music at a mall during the holiday season. He still has his dream of success in music, but it's dormant.
On the last night of their tour he rejoins the band locally for one night at the invitation of his cousin (John Mark McMillan). Gabe still has it.
It leads to a trip to Nashville to try to make connections. A manager (Charley Koontz) likes Gabe's work, but tells him he can't take him on. He says he has a group of musicians, but few if any really successful ones.
"Luck - that's the word," he says. "You walk down Broadway - there's a million of them [talented people]."
He takes him to a club where a singer appears every Saturday night for the experience of connecting with an audience. He does this every Saturday.
The manager tells Gabe, "If you want to play, just play."
Warren, co-owner of the club, says to Gabe,"Sometimes a broken dream can be a new dream."
Long December is a trip back to the films of the 1970s. It's personal.
Torrey has personified the dreamer in his singer.
What makes the film special is the vision. It's palpable.
Long December is a film for all the dreamers.