Ballast is a movie that I would only recommend to a true indie fan. Ballast takes place in the Mississippi Delta and follows the live of three people. After his twin brother commits suicide, Lawrence stops going to work at his convenience store, instead he just sits at home staring at the television, like a zombie. His 12-year-old nephew, James, is in trouble with drug dealers and is desperate to get money to pay them off for the crack he has been smoking. Meanwhile, James's mother, Marlee, is scrubbing toilets to earn whatever she can to afford food and clothing for her son. But when Marlee finds out that her son's life is in danger, they run away to stay with Lawrence. This reunion is not wanted by any party and it triggers long-held memories and problems that slowly boil to the surface. This is set in the Mississippi Delta, and shot on location with nonprofessional actors who live in the region. The dialogue seems mostly improvised, and the director uses only natural sound and light. These all combine to make the audience feel that they are watching the lives of actual real people. It feels like a reality movie with out staged scenes.
Ballast is good in that it is so organic and real. It is good in that you feel like you have been made privy to the stark reality that these people in the Mississippi Delta experience. It is good in that it is incredibly different from most of the movies out there, indie or not.
However, it is slow. There is very little action. The actors are hard to understand. In fact, I had to watch most of the movie with subtitles to understand what was being said. The setting is cold, and rainy, and bleak and the circumstances of all the people are very desperate. That is the reason I suggest that only really big fans of indie films see this one. Its is an emotionally powerful movie, if you can actually get into the story, which isn't exactly easy to do. If you can't get into a story like this, then you will probably think that this is one of the most boring movies ever made. The movie has garnered a lot of critical acclaim which is the reason I rented it to begin with. I am a fan of indie films. I think they are a refreshing departure from all the stuff that is churned out of the big studios, but I had a very difficult time getting into this one. If I hadn't just had some coffee before I watched it, I would have probably fallen asleep multiple time. So, you've been warned kids!
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