PRINT: Arts&Culture
Wednesday, Nov. 7,2012
Local director thrills with
‘A Lonely Place for Dying’
ChristopherTaylor
Arts & Culture Editor
Fast paced, high-octane
action and gripping suspense is
what awaits those who watch
“A Lonely Place for Dying,” a
movie made by local Oregon
director Justin Eugene Evans.
The movie was shown at local
theaters throughout the Portland
area and is slated to be released
on iTunes late in the upcoming
winter.
“A Lonely Place for Dying”
is about Nikolai Dzerzhinsky
(played by Ross Marquand), a
Russian KGB mole working for
the CIA, who uncovers a secret
about the CIA and tries to use it
to get out of his station in Laos.
What follows is a story of
secrets, hardship, betrayal and
an unlikely partnership with
Agent Robert Harper (Michael
Scovotti), a CIA agent sent to
kill him. The movie is full of
action, raw emotion and a pow apprehensive, logical character
er-packed plot backed by steady of Robert, you can find a strong
character development/under- sense of connection that leaves
standing.
you without any wanting or
The movie gets your heart doubts about the movie. And it’s
racing with action, tugs on your all thanks to Evans’ dedication
heartstrings with emotions rang to his craft.
ing from fear to sadness, all
Evans
graduated
from
of which are aptly displayed in Clackamas High School in 1991
the characters of Nikolai and and started making movies when
Robert. Marquand and Scovotti he was just 14 years old. He first
both delivered strong, believable decided to work with movies at
performances, bringing Evans’ age 4, when he saw Star Wars for
characters to life and creat the first time. The rest, as they
ing a world for moviegoers to say, is history. He went on to
immerse themselves in without win a scholarship to NYU for his
fear of being disappointed.
film “Wild Boys.” From there,*
The movie’s' sets and effects he just kept moving forward.
were also strong and helped to “A Lonely Place for Dying” has
create Evans’ world, setting the earned 29 awards from different
tone for the movie, even using a festivals, 18 of them being for
real prison to film in and adding Best Picture. It also features a 50
to the willful suspension of dis minute music score. Talk about
belief that allows you to really your major works.
get into the movie.
My only criticisms for this
You feel as if this really hap movie would be that some of the
pened, and whether you attach characters development is either
yourself to the spitfire, fear lacking or it moves too quickly.
less character of Nikolai, or the Also, some of the fight scenes
and visual effects were just shy
of cheesy.
The climax right before the
“final confrontation” was anti-
climactic, with two “major vil
lains” being killed off without
much of a fight from them.
These were the only setbacks in
my opinion, and didn’t destroy
the overall quality of the work.
I still think of it as a solid, good
quality movie that I’d recom
mend to others.
Evans’ work is a shining
example of what’s possible for
pqople to achieve. He created a
Hollywood quality movie, with
a hundredth of the budget, and
distributed it on his own. Evans
had a hand in writing, directing
and producing the movie as well,
wearing several “hats,” if you
will, to accomplish his task.
I give him kudos. He’s accom
plished a daunting task all while
creating a good, quality product
that I thoroughly enjoyed watch
ing.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
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WEDNESDAY-11/7
THURSDAY-11/8
FRIDAY-11/9
SATURDAY-11/10
• Rag& Ribbons:
• Atan
Jones
Jazz Jam: Brassirie
• Miss May I, The
Ghost
Inside:
Montmartre Portland,
8 p.m.
Hawthorne Theater,
Portland, 6:30 p.m.
$17-$20
• 1 W restled A
Bear Once, The
Plot In You: Branx,
Doug Fir Lounge,
Portland. 9 p.m. $5
• The Slants: The
Someday Lounge,
Portland, 9 p.m. $7
Portland, 6:15 p.m.
$14-$16
• PYP Fall Con
certs Artene Schnitzer
Concert Hall, Portland,
7:30 p.m. $11-$40
SUNDAY-11/11
MONDAY-11/12
TUESDAY 10/13
« Veteran’s day:
• S tre e t
Light
M a n ife s to :
No school at CCC!
Hawthorne Theater,
Portland,
7 p.m.
$17.50-320
5