Full Text of Binghamton Free Press Review

Binghamton alumnus’ “The Lionshare” is perfect way to end the year

By CLAIRE WILSON
Impact Editor

Harpur Film Society’s last showing for the Spring 2009 semester was perfectly suited. “The Lionshare,” written and directed by Binghamton alumni Josh Bernhard, is yet another coming of age tale dealing with college students and computers, yet has a level of genuine heart and unassuming humor that will certainly pull at the heartstrings no matter what stage in life you are at. Especially anyone who has sent their crush a message online and practically melted while waiting for their response.

At only 61 minutes in running time, the movie is the perfect length for the story to be engaging despite the fact that the plot is extremely simple. While the characters certainly begin with what has become a cliche beginning (the infamous ‘first time’ with online dating), each persona holds its own as the movie progresses, and each actor proves their value. Mike Pantozzi plays Nick, the without-a-cause film maker with hopeful eyes and a rusty talent. His two friends, Matty (played by Jonathan Hansen) and Bracey (played by Bracey Smith) are fantastic -the chemistry between the male friends was handmade for what would certainly be considered ‘bromance.’ The romances presents typical college/ mid-20s dilemmas; including the fun, the aimless, and the confused. And when Nick says in a heartbreaking voice, “You just knew it was going to end this way,” while speaking of a website that was shut down for copyright investigations, it is an exact representation of how we have become attached to our electronics.

Matty also has a side story about family issues interpreted mainly from one-sided phone calls. It is refreshing to see a college story include not just friendship and relationships but also family dynamics, without having one totally take over. The movie’s concentration on the day-to-day decisions, emotions, and nothingness of trying to figure out what exactly to do with your life is its true achievement -because it does all of this without making you fear your own decisions, as well as playing out the scenes with enough pace to keep you interested.

The music in the movie is a main player, between Bracey Smith’s originals and the discussions of bands, it ties together the characters’ stories and the background tracks. In one scene, random shots of strangers are walking around to a song proclaiming “I am being taken over by machines,” and it takes a few seconds to realize what they all have in common -iPods.

In a subtle way, one of the character’s ‘inside’ jokes spreads to further removed groups of friends, and again the power of our cyber pathways are revealed. Both good (record labels signing you up after hearing your work online) and bad (someone steals your work…that wasn’t copyrighted in the first place) aspects of electronics are involved in the movie, making it ultimately realistic, rather than harping on just one side of the story. With silent scenes of intimacy, scenes of Binghamton campus, humorous encounters, and charmingly awkward scenes, “The Lionshare” has the capability of becoming a quiet college sensation.  •

This appeared in the May 7, 2009 issue of the Binghamton Free Press.  Not bad for a first review, I’d say.  The running time is actually 65 minutes, by the way.  They have yet to update their website with the latest issue, unfortunately.

Special thanks to Mickey Dobbin for ferrying the paper all the way from Binghamton, and for programming the event for Harpur Film Society last month.