gengar843 Having seen Time Trap (2017), and loving the premise while also liking the kitschy follow-through, as well as enjoying some vibrance of that cast, I decided to look into his earlier offering, STRINGS. Another intriguing entry! Let's begin with the PLOT: Decided loser Billy happens upon the business card of an "experimental therapist" who promises to completely change Billy's life. Point 1: Billy is fairly likeable from the start so we root for him, even if only moderately. His girlfriend Chavine is also likeable even if demanding, and we discover much about why this is in the character build-up. We learn about their respective family upbringing and parental involvement, Chavine's mother intensely involved in her daughter's welfare while Billy's parents are at best detached. There is also alcoholism. But most salient is the death of their daughter, which causes Billy to emotionally wander aimlessly and fail to grow. This is displayed in a couple of good scenes, particularly when the club owner tells Billy he's essentially washed up as a musician and should consider being a sound and light man. Oof!Point 2: SPOILER: The manner by which Billy finds the business card is quite coincidental. Not a setup, just greatly fatalistic. Destiny. Not bad, but a bit heavy-handed.Point 3: SPOILER! The therapy is essentially to become a part of a rescue team for kidnapped children who are forced into child porn. I'm not sure if this is ALL the team does, because we see essentially one mission, but that one mission is quite the disgusting eye-opener, and forces us to again believe in Billy as a person with a worthwhile life-path. The problem, of course, is that he's also become a vigilante, a murderer, even if in the name of a justice which nearly everyone would or should agree. Not only is this a moral tension of the film (is there justified murder?) but there is the added element that once in the gang of mercenary rescuers, always in the gang, and there's no going back to the old life, that is, no "strings" can get in the way or pull you back. This particular element is done a bit poorly, even if it's the central theme. Why? The gang is small, from what I can gather, less than 10 members, and therefore to kill those who disobey the prime directive, so to speak, that is, to have no strings, not only whittles down your gang but also causes too many questions of self-survival, putting too much pressure on missions. In fact, the ending of the film justifies my complaint - SPOILER ALERT! - that Desky "falls out of a window" and everyone is set free. One might say it's the nature of that "business" that such things are doomed to eventually fall apart, and that's fine. It also climaxes as romantic rather than action, which is again fine, because this film is billed as Drama.One interesting and intelligent oddity of the plot is that Billy gets hurt during the raid (or second part of the raid, if you like) and Desky is convinced that rather than kill Billy for being a liability - SPOILER ALERT! - they will opt for plastic surgery to change his appearance and therefore keep on a quite valuable member (Billy does prove it!). Thus, actor Billy Harvey disappears mid-film for Christ Potter! It can't POSSIBLY be that Billy Harvey was removed from production and the writers merely rewrote the script to accommodate because the plot gets BETTER, much better, once the plastic surgery kicks in. Now it's eight years later and - SPOILER ALERT! - "Jimmy" (the new Billy) goes to visit Chavine secretly. This is the "string" he can't break, but we already know his pal and partner Karl visits HIS son, and not with plastic surgery either(!), so the tension of such visit is pretty broken by knowing Desky doesn't know everything. Which is nice, because I'm quite sick of omniscient leaders like Nick Fury.The remainder of the film requires many suspensions of disbelief, including how he gets a job in Chavine's piano shop, why she should have one, how he becomes close with this family, and especially with ther daughter Lily, who - BIG-TIME SPOILER! - is Billy and Chavine's second daughter!It does all work out in the end, with a few further suspensions of disbelief, including how Jimmy evades the wiping out of Chavine and her family and his own death. It's actually done pretty quietly, all things considered, keeping the melancholy tone of the film intact, which is a nice touch, after all.As for Chavine and Jimmy, I'm happy to report - SPOILER! - they keep it clean and do not engage in adulterous amorous reconstitution, leaving us with them both being worthy adults who have actually grown, and not stupid children who can't keep their hormones in check. Those who read my review and object to this morality, or my view of it - I wrote it especially for you, to teach you something. Not every reconnection of former flames must end with lovemaking, especially when it would destroy the family so carefully built, which is of course the main point of the film - GROW! Strings are not only wonderful things but they also can hold you back, and it's quite better that Jimmy and Chavine remain friends, even if Lily is their daughter.One further piece of trivia: the handsome and dramatic Chris Potter, who also wrote and performed some musical pieces for the film, has never done another film, and I can't find any further info on him! He's disappeared!

jperry8511 We saw Strings at the Arclight during the Hollywood Film Festival. We went away talking about the story lines all weekend. We were amazed at how you originally wanted to dislike certain actors. But as the plot went on you either loved them or hated them. The acting was impressive, especially compared to other indie films we have seen. We had a hard time viewing this as an indie movie. It is made of a much high quality then most. As far as the actors themselves, Elle LaMont is a site for sore eyes. We hope both she and Olivia Dragucevich (the child actor) are in other movies. We will start searching for them to see. The male actors were cast perfectly for their roles. Jack Lee, Billy Harvey, Karl Anderson, Chris Potter, and the others were extremely believable and should win many awards for their performances.We hope this movie is turned into one that hits the major screen so others can talk all weekend about it too. Great movie!

jeanneetheredge I attended a screening in San Antonio at the suggestion of a friend. I was quite impressed with the quality of the picture and acting. I did not expect to see such quality in an indie film. The movie has several intense story lines. They all just draw you into and keep your interest. The actors are spot on! You just about hear what the others in the audience are thinking throughout. I also loved the little pieces of humor. The little girl in Strings is a total delight! It would be nice to see her in other things. I am glad my friend suggested this and can't wait to see how far the Directors go in their career. It was well worth every minute.

mooney-ij Strings is a great movie that has suspense, romance and action. The film has a very good cast that gives it a professionalism you don't find often in indie movies. Also, the score is just amazing. It really takes the film to another level.Mark Dennis and Ben Foster did an unbelievable job considering that this is first feature film. I'm excited to see what comes next from the pair.I'm pretty sure Stings is being show at a wide variety of film festivals around the country and I highly recommend you checking it out if you can. I saw it at the Breckenridge Festival, but I think they have a full list of the showings on their site.