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Genre: Drama
5 votes
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IMDB Review
Release: year 2009
Ballast (2008) is a movie, which has excellently dealt with human emotions and mental dilemmas to the highest extent. At a glance the movie may seem to be a normal story of family drama, but a deeper probe will reveal startling facts. Ballast has tried to portray the dark aspects of modern dazzling civilization. Here devil has entered the plot through a suicide.
The darkness of the movie wrecks its havoc in the Mississippi delta. It deals with the lives of three closely related characters, following the suicide of a person. In the plot of Ballast, Darious commits suicide. It brings catastrophe in the lives of his ex-wife Marlee and her 12-years old son James. Darious’ twin brother Lawrence cannot accept the sad fate of Darious and tries to commit suicide, but fails to take his own life and lands up in hospital. James studies at a poorly managed school. He is linked up with local drug syndicate to earn money. His mother also executes some odd jobs for survival. When, Lawrence returns home, he is attacked by James, who robs him. Mariee losses her job and becomes aimless human soul. Things start to move rapidly.
Ballast as a movie has successfully depicted the darkness of human soul. Instead of joining hands together after the death of Darious, the three main characters fall in anarchy. The acting has excellently inserted life into the plot of the movie. The actors do not boast of fabulous backgrounds, but they have been able to make Ballast an intense entertaining platform. Tara Riggs as Mariee is the delivered the most noticeable performance in Ballast. Jim Myron Ross as James has vividly showcased the wanton destruction of a future. In this regard we must mention the name of director Lance Hammer. He has picked the actors from the location of the movie. This has enhanced the feelings of ‘realism’ in Ballast.
Cinematography has played a major role in enhancing the attraction of Ballast. It has combined with high quality acting and direction to produce a sensitive tale. The anger, disappointment, helplessness and drastic steps of the characters have been quite exquisitely depicted in this film. It is a story of barren society. The wintry climate, it desolate atmosphere and gloomy sky have enhanced the sense of despondency in this film. The proper use of natural sounds, instead of too much music has helped to make the movie a real one.
Ballast has thrown some questions to the society. It has highlighted the uncertain future of a young kid. This movie is not only about the plight of a particular family; director Lance Hammer has tried to showcase the problem of Mississippi delta. Local actors have done their jobs wonderfully to produce a poignant story in local settings. It has an essence of documentary film, but the filmmakers have done the task quite deftly.
