Grind

We are in Clifton, New Jersey. The summer is long and hot. The barbecue is crackling a bit more than usual and the drag-racing cars leave extra long traces of rubber on the asphalt. When Terry Dolan one day comes home from work, he finds his brother, Eddie, standing in the shower. Eddie has just served an 18 months sentence and has now called upon his brother. Terry does not mind letting him stay at least not until he can afford a place of his own. Neither of them suspects that they just have taken a first step towards catastrophe. Eddie has always been his own master, but now he is forced to take a job at the factory where Terry, and their father Nick, have worked all their lives. The combination of time clocks and a job that make Chaplin's conveyer belt in Modern Times seem stimulating and progressive makes Eddie search for something that can add meaning to his existence. Therefore, he returns to the drag-racing track despite the car accident that was the cause to his imprisonment. In order to be able to finance his racing, he is, with the help of his brother, dragged into obscure car dealings; at the same time, he starts working night shifts to be able to do repair work on his car during the daytime. Meanwhile, he gets to know Terry's wife, Janey, who is discontented with her role as a housewife and uncertain of whether or not she really loves the male chauvinist pig she is married to. Eddie turns out to be far more sympathetic than that; soon, he and Janey are struggling against their forbidden feelings. Their love, the criminal contacts and the conflict between the two brothers are eventually tied up, and the consequences for Eddie, Janey and Terry are more complex than they could ever imagine. Laura Lau's and Chris Kentis' first feature is based on Kentis' experiences as a holiday worker at different factories in New Jersey, and was made possible by economic contributions from family and friends. Bearing in mind the low-budget, and the complicated circumstances, it is impressive that they managed to pull the film through; as is the fact that they succeeded in gathering an exciting mixture of new and established actors. The most interesting newcomer is Billy Crudup, who plays the part of Eddie Dolan; this is his film debut. After his performance in Grind, he has already been booked for leading roles in a couple of big Hollywood productions of the forthcoming year. When you see him acting in his first feature, you are not surprised by his meteoric career. PN

Premiärstatus
Skandinavisk premiär: Medverkande
Adrienne Shelly, Billy Crudup, Paul Schulze: Producent
Laura Lau: Manus
Chris Kentis & Laura Lau: Foto
Stephan Kazmierski: Musik
Brian Kelly: Talat språk
English