Synopsis
A minor traffic citation spirals into an all-consuming obsession for a neurotic young woman.
Retrograde
2022 Directed by Adrian Murray
Cast
Director
Producers
Writer
Editor
Cinematography
Genre
Popular reviews
More-
"I haven't processed it all yet so that's why I'm not crying" -Molly,
- 2022: boxd.it/eWNQo
I get it and I hate that I get it.
Finally the female Jessie Eisenbergs of the world can feel seen. This is the most.... it's so.... GAH, this film! Some are going to hate this because it's a movie that's power is honestly and bluntly displaying brutally cringy dialogue in its rawest form but if you are like me and love feeling awkward as fuck while watching a movie then this is gold. Molly Reisman feels so real her performance is either brilliant or that's just her. The script is fantastic I just wish this had a bit higher budget behind it.
An absolute nightmare to watch...enjoy.
-
the rare film that understands that roommates who don't do the dishes, law enforcement, and work suck all the joy out of life; saw a lot of myself in this, for better or worse
-
This is so me. I feel like shit. The acting and writing are brilliant. I’ve never hated myself more. Fuck.
-
My friend made this, he worked so hard and I’m very proud of him — AND he writes dialogue like a mother fucker, this one! <3
-
-
The Slamdance Film Festival starts today on the interwebs. So with that, I kindly direct you to our most poignant, funny and smartly nuanced narrative feature in the lineup - it's also a masterclass on how to approach making your second feature film on a modest budget.
-
Absolutely loved this. The simplest of conflict just eats away at the main character, and the result is an interesting commentary on the lack of control that we have in our lives, and our fruitless attempts to try to make our lives neat and tidy. As much as we have an idea of who we are, and how we act, the universe has an entirely different perspective. The framing of every single shot is so purposeful, and daring, particularly when we are seeing a dialogue scene where one of the characters is off camera, and the character in frame is shot from the side, or behind, and you can't see their face. With all the editing and direction, there is…
-
SLAMDANCE 2022 Watch #20
Delightfully cringe and embarrassingly relatable to my own life. When I was 21 I got a speeding ticket but what the officer said I was going and what the ticket said were different. Tried forever to get it dismissed but to no avail. Finally gave up and wrote a check for the fine, except in the memo I added: "ILLEGITIMATE TICKET." Well the court did not like that and said I had to appear in person. I panicked and rewrote the check sans sassy memo and they accepted it. *whew* Sometimes it's better to give up on perceived injustices before they destroy you. Either way, Retrograde will make you want to die and I loved it.
-
Really fantastic minimalist, low budget filmmaking at work here. The writing is so smart, with incredibly relatable dialogue, and an undertone of dry comedy where the characters aren't in on the joke. Molly is the kind of person who never accepts fault. She cannot let go of a minor traffic infraction and lets it consume her thoughts and affect every aspect of her life and all of her relationships. She is super neurotic, to the point of genuinely becoming an annoying character because you just want to shake this person and say "Get over it!". It's not a flashy performance, but Reisman just knocks it out of the park with a natural quirkiness and incredible consistency, nailing perfectly all of…
-
-
-
Earlier this month, I talked with the affable Adrian Murray about his film that has become so dear to me after I caught it at this year's virtual Slamdance. (Thanks to several Letterboxd users, btw.) It's such a screenwriting masterclass. And now the general public in the Madison area has the chance to watch Retrograde in a theater on April 8 as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival. Please don't miss it.
In our phone interview that I transcribed for Tone Madison, Murray spoke about the idea for his film spurring from an astrology reading and an argumentative podcast, preference for writing self-destructive characters, defining the film's genre, the incompatibilities of definitions of "truth," and the drive to keep making…