Sometimes all it takes to make a movie work is to get a group of great actors in a room and let them do their thing. Such is the case with Brooklyn 45, the latest feature from writer-director Ted Geoghegan ( We’re Still Here Mohawk ). Set after World War II, the film follows five longtime friends who gather at Lt. Col. Clive Hockstatter’s (Larry Fessenden) established brownstone following the death of his beloved wife, who committed suicide after convincing her German neighbor (Kristina Glue) secretly spied on her.
Anne Ramsay is the no-nonsense former torturer Marla and Ron E. Rains is her well-meaning husband Bob, who is Mjr.’s butt time and time again. Archibald Stantons (Jeremy Holms) and Mjr Jokes by Paul DiFranco (Ezra Buzzington). Marla and Bob are the most settled of the group; They have secure government jobs and propose to each other a decent existence in DC after the war is finally over. But for the likes of Archibald, Paul and, as is becoming increasingly clear, Clive, the struggles never really ended, and probably never will. You suffer almost voluntarily from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
Initially, Brooklyn 45’s main character appears to be Basil Exposition himself, while the quintet stand around Clive’s stunningly decorated drawing room – the set design is spectacular and includes a color palette of various shades of green, including an acid wash that really comes into its own in the dim lighting – and essentially reheats their relationships. Geoghegan, who wrote the script himself, hasn’t quite mastered how to make such interactions seem real. Most of the time we wonder why these characters remind each other of things they all experienced.
Likewise, there are some superficial discussions about the “choice of hate” that are a little too desperate for relevance in 2023. Still, it’s a welcome discussion nonetheless, especially given what’s going on in the world right now. One of the biggest talking points revolves around an atrocity in which 56 children were mindlessly slaughtered, with inevitable nasty real-world ramifications. Geoghegan clearly has a lot to say about the rampant xenophobia dominating the country, and it is telling that the discussion was the same nearly 80 years ago.
Luckily, all of the cast play such a blindness that they effortlessly accentuate the dialogue at its weaker moments. These characters seem incredibly alive, their interpersonal issues often uncomfortably believable (the casual way Paul refers to Archibald as a “F****t” is used to show how easy it is to convince someone of that that he just can’t take the joke, when in reality her opponent is intentionally hurtful and tries to disguise it as humor.When the idea of a séance comes up, no one wants to attend either, which is a nice twist for a horror movie since the characters are usually willing to step in, maybe it’s just because they’re all older people with more life experiences, but you get the sense that this group has seen more than enough death and destruction in one lifetime that of course they don’t really care for the idea of possibly letting evil in. AlthoughBrooklyn 45 is about confronting the ghosts of the past, often quite literally, the paranormal element is not the focus. It’s a claustrophobic piece of chamber music that’s utterly character-driven and mostly confined to a single room. Luckily there are so many beautiful details that you don’t mind getting stuck there, especially with these folks.
It’s difficult to pick a standout from the cast of phenomenal character actors who all sell every single scene to the max. Fessenden isn’t capable of being bad, but he’s heartbreakingly good at it and utterly compelling, whether spouting conspiracy theory nonsense or grieving his wife. As the impressive Marla, Ramsay is wonderful and often wryly funny when it comes to commenting on her dysfunctional group of friends (“We never feel comfortable,” she once quips to Bob). Her scenes with Kleber’s Hildegard are informed by a shared understanding of the difficulties women face in this moment. Meanwhile, Holm and Buzzington create an intriguing counterpoint to one another.
Holm impressed as the titular killer in The Ranger, and anyone who caught him in this wonderfully nasty little slasher will be shocked at the overall performance he pulls off here as the tormented but mischievous Archibald. Given the current attacks on the queer community, Archibald’s plight is particularly troubling, and Holm plays the character’s many contradictions beautifully. Buzzington, meanwhile, is careful not to stray into mustache-twisting villains’ territory, but he’s clearly the worst of them and least likely to take responsibility for his actions, then or now.
Even if Brooklyn 45 doesn’t necessarily function as a paranormal chiller, with little atmosphere to speak of and an almost total lack of scares, it does perform solidly as an actor’s showcase. Pondering the devastating effects of war, the paranoia of outsiders coming to the United States, and the right of these normally disadvantaged people to seek a better life for themselves are as pressing today as they were back in 1945, perhaps even more so. Brooklyn 45is at its strongest when the film strips it all down and this group of former dissidents squirm as they argue about their place in the world in a well-appointed, impossibly stately living room. In the end, we really don’t want them to go.
WICKED RATING: 7/10
Director(s): Ted Geoghegan
Writer(s): Ted Geoghegan
Cast: Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ezra Buzzington, Kristina Klebe
Release Date: June 9, 2023 (Shudder )
Language English
Running time: 92 minutes
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