Just because this movie is pointedly non-'mainstream'...

Yeah, that's the ingredients for making and indie movie allright! You've got it all figured out :)

Personally, I think your frame of reference is rather tiny, or maybe way to big. I think you're trying too hard to find faults. It's ok not liking the movie, without all this :)

...You like "indie-centric movies" O_o What the hell does that even mean? Do you even know what you're talking about, or just making up crap to try & make yourself sound cool? Oh, because you're oh so indie, and only like things that are cool in the so-called indie scene, right? Ha hahaha.

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Man, I must have been in a bad mood or something when I posted this.

It wasn't a bad movie--but it wasn't that great either. Oh well.

I too thought the plot was dodgy. But Giovanni Ribisi made it all worthwhile.

I liked it. Maybe I'm not "qualified" to comment on so-called indie flicks, but the characters seemed original enough. Williams' extreme nervousness did irritate me a bit (has the guts to initiate insurance fraud, but can barely look the claims investigator in the eye??) Holly Hunter was hilarious. Her interaction with her kidnappers was funny as hell and although they were kind of emasculated by her character, I found that funny too. How often do you really see a woman who is a would-be-captive take her kidnappers off guard like that? I don't live in Alaska, but I do live in Wisconsin. For those of you who did't know, it gets very f ucking cold up here. I mean, when choosing winter attire priorities go like this: what it's made of (could you climb Everest in it?), will someone see you by the side of the road should you be thrown from a vehicle?, and can you make the face hole small just small enough to breathe out of if you're stuck outside - it's a matter of survival and whether or not you like your fingers and toes. Then things like color and style come into play. This does not account for the stupid people who just want to look nice. Anyway, we do have summers, of course, but there are lots of people who live out in the woods year round (ala the lady with the shotgun) and lots of towns that are so small that the gas station, restaurant, pharmacy, bar, and grocery store are all in one building. Speaking from my point of view (being from Milwaukee) I have visited (and have relatives in) PLENTY of towns where the characters are not identical, but just as colorful as those in the movie. So yeah, you get a lot of odd pair-ups between people. I wouldn't call all the characters from our small towns "loveable" but they have quirkiness in spades. And if you made a movie all about people who were total a ssholes, who would want to watch it? I'm getting the feeling from a lot of people who post on a lot of boards that a movie is only "indie" if everyone hates it. I thought all a movie needed to do to be considered "indie" was not be produced by a major studio. Or have the majority of the cast be no-name actors. Maybe I just don't get it.

My favorite indie movie is temple of doom

I liked it. There were some ridiculous things in the movie like the two pathetic murderers but the movie was still enjoyable to watch, although the ending wasn't very satisfying.