Frame of Mind: Grade D

D
Frame of mind (2009)
Carl T. Evans, Arija Bareikis. Co-writer and Director Carl T. Evans.

This indie looks good and is put together well. A Policeman in a small New Jersey town finds a tiny strip of film in an antique jewelry case that shows a gunman on the infamous grassy knoll at Dealy Plaza in Dallas on the day JFK was shot. For motives unknown, he tracks down the owner of the jewel box and discovers the significance of the film, that it would prove a conspiracy. As he researches theories of JFK’s shooting, it becomes apparent that unnamed government bad guys are after the film, in an attempted coverup, and they get it, and he is left with nothing, the end. It was a great premise for a story, and it could have gone in so many directions, but it loses its way by trying to be a half-baked remake of Oliver Stone’s JFK. Why? Granted, this is a low budget independent film, but they could at least have had a writing instructor look over the story. It’s a lost opportunity. There are moments of good acting, but also plenty of the opposite. And the pace is off. For a supposed thriller, too much time is wasted establishing that the cop and his wife are just plain folks, an angle that does not play into the story line. Sets and locations were good, but characterization was very weak. There is latent talent here. Maybe the movie will capture some TV eyeballs.