Human Geography
          
            From the Archives
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          04-Dec-2013
        
      
    A young Boston man and his kinda girlfriend spend a couple nights together then take separate trips to New York. They sleep together, share forties and sing karaoke duets, but she always seems distant, on the verge of cutting him loose, all the more so when she's offered a summer job in Brooklyn at an organic food cart. Directed by Misha Spivack as an thesis film for Emerson College, "Human Geography" is a authentic screengrab of the way 20-something hipsters speak and behave, centered around the 'kinda boyfriend' (played by Alex Roesch), an uneasy man in a tough spot. His predicament is trying to grasp what kind of relationship he's got, or solidify it, while the girl (Nyle Kaliski) is swept up in new possibilities. She's not the type to be held back. The enterprising young man doling out "manager" positions at his string of food carts (apparently to any attractive young girl) is played by up-and-coming filmmaker and photographer Chris Maggio (co-director, "People Parade") and he's a scene-stealer, excitable and charming. The two lead performances are more low-key but compelling, the cinematography is non-flashy but solid, and the direction stays out of the way. An interesting extension of the narrow-focused but authentic digital studies of early 20's relationships that arrived with mumblecore. There's still plenty to capture in this realm, and "Human Geography" offers another slice.
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