'Monks on acid' revealed!
Who knows when, if ever, this post will be read. This was a limited release flick that most likely got all its play in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. The movie won't turn many heads, but the hidden treasure really lies within the commentary track on the DVD featuring writer/director Jon Dichter and the always interesting character actor Stephen Tobolowsky.
It bears noting that this was a low-budget thriller for (I believe) first-timer Dichter, shot in and around Dallas/Ft. Worth. I can't claim to know for certain, but one can hazard a guess that Stephen Tobolowsky, although a recognizable face in American cinema (his recurring role in "Groundhog Day" as the old class chum that Bill Murray runs into each morning is one of the highlights of the film), like many actors keeps an eye out for indie projects like this just to continue to remain "out there" in the hopes that a few of them will hit and find an audience. It can be assumed that the Dallas shoot was a drawing feature for Tobolowsky - a Dallas native. I won't throw Dichter under the bus for the production values in the film, nor the quality of the priciple cast, such are the realities of the low-budget indie.
Cheap production values, however, are no excuse for poor film-making. Recall "Blood Simple," "Hollywood Shuffle" or "El Mariachi" as examples of what can be done with less. It becomes hilariously apparent that Stephen Tobolowsky shares this view of Dichter's film and skill as a director. I don't know how the contractual obligations work, but the wonder of the DVD commentary is that auteur Dichter finds himself without an ally. Throughout the commentary, Tobolowsky scores on Dichter with razor-sharp backhanded contributions. Highlights include commentary during a scene where the protagonist speaks on the car phone, Tobolowsky notes he looks down for an extended period of time at the phone rather than keeping his eyes on the road, "Ooops!", and his assertion at the end of the film that the script "...could not have been written by a mind." It makes the whole thing worthwhile.
MY PERSONAL "THE OPERATOR" INSIGHT:
A revealing bit of human nature on the DVD commentary concerning the nightclub scene. Dichter steals credit from a guy who steals the show.
Several months before the release of "The Operator", Sean, a very good friend of mine who goes to school in Denton, Texas, and likes to go to open casting calls for extras when films are shot in DFW, told us about this production. Sean will show up for anything, he was an extra for the Scott Bakula football comedy "Necessary Roughness", among others. Sean is an aging neo-hippie. Long hair and tie-dyed shirt type.
He had told us about this open call for extras needed for a nightclub scene. The extras were asked to dance when cameras rolled, but being the individual he is, he said he just did what would come naturally to him were he to be caught in such a situation - namely stare blankly at the vibrating lights as though he were tripping. Apparently, Dichter and his crew liked Sean's performance so much that, if you watch the film, you see he is featured quite heavily throughout; even warranting a close-up or two. Finally, at some point, someone on the crew gave directions to another extra - another unique-looking guy with colored hair - to do exactly the same thing. So there is a wide shot of the club with 2 guys staring up blankly, mesmerized by the lights, in a sea of people.
It's a remarkable enough contribution to the scene that Stephen Tobolowsky refers to Sean, "I love the guy just staring at the lights." In an otherwise bland film, several of us have suggested Sean could potentially get character work with this mindless staring character.
Now, months later as we're watching the DVD, we caught Dichter stealing Sean's thunder. He states that he told his production designer his vision for the nightclub scene was "monks on acid." But, if you watch carefully, there is nothing about the scene that conveys this other than my buddy. Even the second "staring man" in the scene is clearly seen at other points mindlessly dancing like the other drones. It's just very average-looking young people dancing to generic dance music in a not-too-remarkable club set.
You have to love the desperation of the aspiring artist to shamelessly take credit for anything that works.