SXSW 2011: LBF Review

WTF? Rambling, digressive, and dryly amusing, Alex Munt's LBF is a music-infused adaptation of a short novel by Cry Bloxsome. As it was rolling, I couldn't decide what it was: a fictional visual essay? a one-act play? Whatever it is, it runs 65 minutes and proves to be a weird and bright way to approach the material.

LBF, an abbreviation for "Living Between Fucks" and subtitled "A Pop-Art Film," seeks to capture a tone. (Munt, confirmed as much in the post-screening Q & A, in which he said the finished screenplay more resembled the framework for a movie than anything else.) LBF begins with a blast of energy. Goodchild (Toby Schmitz) is a young writer who returns home to attend the funeral of someone referred to only as The Dead Girl (Gracie Otto).

It turns out she was an ex-girlfriend, and her death prompts Goodchild to accept a commission for a writing project to be called "The Love Enterprise." He starts by visiting a bookstore and buying every book with "love" in the title (there's a lot) and then interviews friends and strangers he meets at parties, asking questions such as "What is love? Is true love possible?"

He also reflects on his relationship with a woman he calls The Beautiful Financial Backer (Bianca Chiminello), who commissioned "The Love Enterprise." Sometimes Goodchild speaks directly to the camera, as do some of the other characters, in snippets. Occasionally he sings along with songs on the soundtrack. He goes to tiny clubs to see bands perform and we listen to lengthy excerpts with him. And then Goodchild writes, tapping away on a portable typewriter.

The high energy level flags at times, and the meandering asides can feel self-indulgent to a point. It feels as though Munt had great respect for the source material and wanted to translate it to the screen in a manner that approximates the reading experience; not just gulping down words, as you might gallop through a "beach read," but processing and assimilating the thoughts conveyed by the writer.

The result is a wonderfully jumbled mess. Lacking a straightforward narrative, which might drive some people up the wall, means that Munt is not under obligation to provide a neat three-act arc or supply resolution. It's a chaotic episode in the life of Goodchild, the writer.

As to the 65-minute running time, a question I raised in the post-screening Q & A, Munt said that's really only a consideration for theatrical exhibition, not festival play (or broadcast or streaming purposes), and he didn't give it any thought. You might say LBF is as long as it needs to be, which makes it refreshing indeed.

LBF, representing the directorial debut of Munt, is making its world premiere at SXSW. It screens again tomorrow at 7:00 pm at the Rollins Theatre and Thursday, March 17 at 1:00 pm at the Alamo Ritz.