Tupelo Film Festival Review – Yesterday Was A Lie

The more I think about Yesterday Was A Lie, the more I like it. Not that I didn’t enjoy it when I first saw it, I just didn’t totally get it. But that is the cool thing about this movie, the more you think about it, the more the layers reveal deeper meaning.

Of course, the film is beautifully shot in black and white with wonderful lighting. The texture of the film is so rich that while watching I wondered if they shot in color and then filtered. As it turns out, I was right. Cochard manipulated the colors of each shot before desaturating. The cinematographer, Jason Cochard, has more assistant camera roles on his resume for now, but give him some time because he has quite the talent for using the camera to build the look and suspense of a movie. Aaron Torres, the chief lighting technician, adds to this with his wonderful use of lighting.

As for the story, the basic plot is that Hoyle, a girl detective, seeks to uncover the trail of a reclusive genius whose theories may help to answer her increasingly surreal and fragmented events. James Kerwin, writer/director, takes on a heavy concept with his mindbending story but manages to keep the suspense throughout. Like most film noir, where you think the movie is heading is hardly ever where it ends up. Kerwin brings up good questions about the nature of time and memory. But, the ending left me hanging a little bit more than I expected. I was hoping for a nice clean wrap up. Instead, I felt I had more questions than answers.

Kerwin explained that he tries “to tackle projects that are strong character pieces, yet which also pose greater, fundamental questions about the nature of reality and existence–things that border on the metaphysical. My stories rarely have storybook endings, and I think that touches people.” And he’s right, you are left conflicted at the end because the story didn’t wrap up for you but expects you to put your own analysis to it to solve the case. Hoyle is the classic hero, in control, and that makes it difficult for her to face her own reality.

For only his third film, Kerwin managed to gather quite a good cast. As Hoyle, Kipleigh Brown (formerly of Star Trek Enterprise and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), brings a new edge to the film noir genre.

Chase Masterson plays her sidekick and lounge singer. The dynamic between the two is quite interesting. Masterson (best known as Leeta in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), stepped up to the plate when the line producer dropped out in 2005. “While were trying to figure out what to do, I basically just said hey I can do this. I had produced before, although not on this thorough a level. It’s not brain surgery but it is lots of hard work,” said Masterson. Hoyle’s other sidekick is veteran actor Mik Scriba who plays the trenchcoat detective on the case.

And playing the dead man is Peter Mayhew. Fans of his work may not recognize him because he normally is quite a bit furrier. He is best known as Chewbacca in the Star Wars trilogy and prequels.

Playing the mystery man that Hoyle searches for (or is he searching for her?) is Dudas, skillfully played by John Newton (best known as Ryan McBride on Melrose Place). Dudas truly is the heart of the film and watching his encounters with Hoyle helps bridge the genre movie from sci-fi/film noir to romantic drama.

Overall, this is a film to see but pay attention or you could end up quite lost at the end. Yesterday Was A Lie plays at the Tupelo FIlm Festival at 9:30 on Friday. For ticket information, visit the film fest website.