Poor Boy Enriches NHFF Audience

As the anticipated first feature narrative to open the New Hampshire Film Festival, Poor Boy delivers. Director Robert Scott Wildes brings you the story of two wayward brother Samson and Romeo Griggs.  The presence of Wildes following the film immensely enhanced the experience as he was able to address the metaphors and questions the film leaves you with.

The film follows the two brothers as they navigate their arduous lives as misfits in a dusty, desert town doing whatever it takes to make ends meet. When the threat of losing their home appears, the brothers scrape together one last tremendous scheme in hopes of leaving for California and the life they’ve imagined there. Wildes encapsulates the film perfectly in saying that it’s “inspiring, tragic, beautiful and sad”

As an audience member you grapple with a range of emotions throughout the film — both laughter and gasps filled the room at the same time, there was a sense of commodity in the audience. As was discussed in the Q&A you find yourself in the midst of characters who you don’t necessarily like, but feel empathy for.  Wildes spoke about how he feels we all have an empathy for those in tough situations and it strikes a chord. Throughout the film, shots with 90’s home video filters were used — pulsing the audience with pangs of nostalgia; making them feel a part of the Wildes’ world.

Wildes spoke very personally about his inspiration for the film and how he came to understand one of his most tortured characters. The lively questioning led him to a range of responses from his experience with fatherhood, to where the idea for the setting came from. Wildes commented that they filmed where they lived, which reconfirms the personal authenticity you feel for the setting and the characters. You would be hard pressed to find a film that evokes so much in the time it’s given.

Catch Poor Boy later this weekend at The Loft  at 10:25am, Sunday October 16th.