DVD Review

Bella Martha

There are a lot of movies in Hollywood where the viewer sees actual actors diving into the real depth of characters within the page.

The great beauty of a small independent movie like Mostly Martha is that the viewer doesn?t see that; they instead see actual characters with solid ground and purpose, even if the latter isn?t fully defined quite yet in the story.
One of the film?s best qualities could be holding a cast of names that the audience isn?t familiar with, as then the script is openly available for unknowns to become real people and not just a familiar presence on the screen. What really makes this movie are the refined performances and nearly spot-on cinematography. The script, while sophisticated, isn?t necessarily the biggest highlight but more of a supporting factor. Mostly Martha engages due to the story having universal themes attached, and the cast being convinced they "are" the people and not "trying" to be the people.

The film surrounds a middle-aged woman named Martha; her life is revolved around cooking, and relates much of her daily life to recipes. However, she is also a lonely lady who doesn?t have a lot of close friends outside of the employees at the restaurant of which she is a cook for; in fact, she?s currently considered the top chef around. When Martha?s sister is involved in a fatal car accident, it lands her daughter at Martha?s front door looking for a place to stay, or least temporarily speaking.

Mostly Martha then transitions into a tale about obsession in the way of food (cooking), but also having to fit an obstacle into the daily life (the child). While the story is not grand, it?s intriguing. And it does happen to borrow an element from As Good As It Gets where the main character has no close relations, but a simple new presence makes all the surprising difference in their life. And though that is revealing a little bit into the plot, there?s more to digest within the premise than just that.

Mostly Martha is not a great film, but it?s a worthy one; it?s one of those small pictures you can see and then ask why there aren?t more of these types of productions. The script allows personal connection to the characters on-screen, which isn?t always a frequent occasion when it comes to films. The audience gets to dive into the personas? lives and make a judgment about them; but even if the characters? lifestyles are different than your own, you may regardless end up feeling for them in sympathy as the time progresses.

One of the factors that kept me away from a stronger B+ rating was the ending, as it was too straightforward and too easy to connect the dots. Most of the film, however, is engaging due to the details of the script being brought to life by the director, as well as the actors doing their job very well. While I didn?t love Mostly Martha, it?s a great diversion from some of the other mediocre flicks on video/DVD. The film reminds us that even if the marketplace is filled with average quality releases, one can usually find a small production to feast their eyes on; as with their limited budgets, intelligence is used more often.

Lee's Grade: B
Ranked #47 of 143 between The Count of Monte Cristo (#46) and Personal Velocity (#48) for 2002 movies.

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%