Transatlantic Coffee (2011)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on February 15, 2012 @ tonymacklin.net.

The other day I was at the Doughnut Shop having a cup of coffee.

I was trying to decide what film to review. Which Hollywood conveyer belt was I going to take it from - the jerky, handheld conveyor belt of Safe House, the spongy conveyor belt of The Vow, or the 3-D conveyor belt of Journey 2: the Mysterious Island?

I looked out the window of the Doughnut Shop. It was an unusually bleak day. I watched a limping pigeon on the asphalt.

For some reason it reminded me of an independent film I'd recently seen. The bird seemed vulnerable and enigmatic.

The indie is called Transatlantic Coffee, and was shot in New York on a low-budget. I had decided not to review it because it hadn't really worked for me. I had problems with some of the casting and the uneven direction and writing, but the limping pigeon reminded me of it - and not in a bad way. It changed my mind.

The limping pigeon seemed as vulnerable as the indie movie. But the remarkable thing is that the movie was made on a low-budget. In a world of digital eagles and digital hawks, an actual pigeon makes a telling contrast.

The making of the movie is an admirable accomplishment.

The late master film critic James Agee stated that he looked for an elbow - something positive - in each movie. Will a wing suffice?

The best element in Transatlantic Coffee is that it is a visual experience. Director Erik Peter Carlson and cinematographer Dan Witrock create some scenes of vibrant color and light. They are evocative.

There are some good lines in Carlson's screenplay, e.g., music "is a mental recording of the time." But sometimes the dialogue is strained and blatant. A sequence at a dining table when a mother spews cliched hatred is over the top.

Often an independent movie's greatest vulnerability is its acting. Watching indies makes one especially aware of the difference between accomplished film actors and amateurs.

Transatlantic Coffee is the story of an alienated 41-year old man Alex (Kevin Pinassi) who brings a young woman Mandie from London to his apartment in New York for companionship and connection. It is the essential odd couple.

The performer that best succeeds is Rachel Marie Lewis, who portrays the spirited Mandie.

Transatlantic Coffee has a surprise ending, which gives it some lift.

Like Transatlantic Coffee, the limping pigeon outside the window of the Doughnut Shop suddenly flew off.

The movie and the bird may not have soared, but they both took flight.