There is fearlessness here, and uncomfortable raw honesty, but there’s also little opportunity to care about a man who pushes everyone, including us, away. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
If there’s been a film like this one before, I’m not aware of it. Writer-director Mark Phinney, with his feature debut Fat, is unflinchingly frank about the physical problems faced by Bostonian Ken (Mel Rodriguez: Little Miss Sunshine) because of his extreme obesity. It’s not merely a few extra pounds Ken is carrying around: he’s sweating profusely and gasping for breath merely getting dressed in the morning, and his size makes it tough for him to clean himself, in the shower or after using the toilet, as Rodriguez’s fearlessness, which is naked both literally and figuratively, makes perfectly plain.
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
If there’s been a film like this one before, I’m not aware of it. Writer-director Mark Phinney, with his feature debut Fat, is unflinchingly frank about the physical problems faced by Bostonian Ken (Mel Rodriguez: Little Miss Sunshine) because of his extreme obesity. It’s not merely a few extra pounds Ken is carrying around: he’s sweating profusely and gasping for breath merely getting dressed in the morning, and his size makes it tough for him to clean himself, in the shower or after using the toilet, as Rodriguez’s fearlessness, which is naked both literally and figuratively, makes perfectly plain.
- 12/16/2015
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The generously proportioned, so to speak, are having a moment in the autumnal sun, courtesy of the Toronto Film Festival, where the subject of fat people is kinda blowing up, in a medium that usually promotes the idea that eating is sinning, and that any worthwhile woman can be outweighed by her handbag. While men always have it easier, even the late James Gandolfini takes some heat about his tonnage in Nicole Holofcener’s “Enough Said” – his character Albert’s failure to lose weight has led to the breakup of his marriage to Marianne (Catherine Keener), and becomes an issue during his courtship of Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and it feels odd but right that the issue is confronted so bluntly. But as forthright as Holofcener is, she’s got nothing on debuting writer-director Mark Phinney and “Fat,” which features a utterly ballsy performance by Mel Rodriguez, and is as frank...
- 9/12/2013
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Unbearable Heaviness of Mark Phinney and His Feature Debut
The struggle of “living large” is an exhausted subject of reality television, but truly tapping into the debilitating depression symptomatic of food addiction does not sell as entertainment. Popular media concerning obesity is instead centered on dramatized weight-loss success stories and eat-this-not-that wisdom. With an emphasis on recovery or fast-food culture evils, the shaky voice of self-destruction has largely been quieted. Breaking the mold, the feature directorial debut from Mark Phinney, simply titled Fat, has a pseudo-documentary aesthetic resembling this familiar genre, but is guided by a fearlessness that appears entirely foreign. Born from autobiographical essays, the soul-bearing and often unflattering portrait of intimate fears and humiliation is refreshing, as it asks for understanding rather than sympathy.
As a writer and director, Phinney has proven his readiness to expose personal indignities, but has seemingly withdrawn himself from the narrative. The...
The struggle of “living large” is an exhausted subject of reality television, but truly tapping into the debilitating depression symptomatic of food addiction does not sell as entertainment. Popular media concerning obesity is instead centered on dramatized weight-loss success stories and eat-this-not-that wisdom. With an emphasis on recovery or fast-food culture evils, the shaky voice of self-destruction has largely been quieted. Breaking the mold, the feature directorial debut from Mark Phinney, simply titled Fat, has a pseudo-documentary aesthetic resembling this familiar genre, but is guided by a fearlessness that appears entirely foreign. Born from autobiographical essays, the soul-bearing and often unflattering portrait of intimate fears and humiliation is refreshing, as it asks for understanding rather than sympathy.
As a writer and director, Phinney has proven his readiness to expose personal indignities, but has seemingly withdrawn himself from the narrative. The...
- 9/8/2013
- by Caitlin Coder
- IONCINEMA.com
The 38th Toronto International Film Festival has released an incredible guest list of celebrated talent from around the globe. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Catherine Breillat, Nicole Garcia, Pawel Pawlikowski, Bertrand Tavernier, Steve McQueen, Godfrey Reggio, Denis Villeneuve, Bill Condon, Jean-Marc Vallée, John Wells, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Ayoade, Atom Egoyan, Matthew Weiner, John Carney, Jason Reitman, Jason Bateman, Yorgos Servetas, Liza Johnson, Megan Griffiths, Fernando Eimbcke, Alexey Uchitel, Johnny Ma, Biyi Bandele, Rashid Masharawi, Paul Haggis, Ron Howard, Eli Roth, Álex de la Iglesia, Bruce McDonald, Jennifer Baichwal, John Ridley, and Justin Chadwick.
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...
The Festival also welcomes thousands of producers and other industry professionals bringing films to us.
The following filmmakers and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:
Ahmad Abdalla, Hany Abu-Assad, Yuval Adler, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Alexandre Aja, Bruce Alcock, Gianni Amelio, Thanos Anastopoulos, Madeline Anderson, Nimród Antal, Louise Archambault,...
- 8/21/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
In the last wave of Tiff announcements, it’s the Discovery section that we’re most curious about as it normally is loaded up with the rookies, many first-time and second time filmmakers breaking into world film festival circuit programming with genuine gems. Among the 25 plus selected films that make up the programme, we’ve got a handful of U.S. independent films in the likes of Mark Phinney’s Fat, a pair of Us in Progress Paris projects in Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly’s Beneath The Harvest Sky and Tommy Oliver’s 1982, while a newbie filmmaker part of the clan in Gia Coppola makes the trip from Venice Film Festival’s Horizon section to Toronto with the book to film adapation of James Franco Palo Alto (see pic above). Also from Venice, we have the Venice Days included Bethlehem, from Israeli helmer Yuval Adler and an item that...
- 8/20/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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