QUICK AND DIRTY: LIVE FROM TALLINN

Marta (Inga Tropa) is a chaotic, woman-child who goes through life like there is no tomorrow. Wherever she turns, there if trouble. She is penniless, despite having a job at an overpriced boutique selling ugly clothes. She is in a weird love relationship with a man working in the film industry as the focus puller and camera assistant. The two have barely nothing in common, except love for weed and their film industry ambitions. Or rather, Marta would love to make her first movie, but – as she will explain at one point to a complete stranger she meets at a party – she can not put images and words to paper. That doesn’t stop her from dreaming big dreams, and in the film opener, we see her in one of them – accepting the award as the Best Director.

There is much to be desired in this alleged dramedy that perpetually fails to make you laugh, with just a few exemptions. The characters are either underdeveloped or forcedly extreme. Such is the case with the profoundly irritating female lead. One is left baffled by the vapid choices made by a grown-up who is even supposed to be an intellectual of sorts. Wayward acts of that kind can be expected of a teenager who rebels against whatever or whomever they consider worth rebelling against, but not of someone in their 30s. This creates a big barrier between the character and the viewer. Marta’s actions become less and less understandable with each such deed.

The film’s title comes from a popular drink made of 1/3 balsam and 2/3 champagne, mentioned in a conversation between Marta and the man who tasks her with a challenging editing job. The drink also appears in a scene representing one of her movie epiphanies. A moment that’s both funny and genuine.

The script is trying to tick off many boxes popular in recent times to get the funding, and this wouldn’t be a problem if the plot were meatier, and offered more than inclusivity. A woman desperately trying to find a way to express her artistic talent, while also needing motivation, is a great film idea. What the audience is given is a meek attempt at it, set up in a hipster milieu where everyone can somehow, à la Carrie Bradshow, live a stylish life despite doing mostly underpaid jobs. It is not normal to destroy your workplace, and leaving unscathed, without charged being pressed charges against you.

The cast is really good, and the images are generally pleasant to look at. But that’s about it. This Latvian-Lithuanian co-production may remain confined to these two countries.

This 91-minute drama is Latvian filmmaker Liene Linde’s directorial debut. She made her name in the short film circuit with Fake Me A Happy New Year (2012) and Seven Awkward Sex Scenes (2016). The latter can be seen as an informal prequel to Black Velvet. The main character is also a movie director who has to face a lot of challenges and answer several difficult questions.

Black Velvet just premiered in the Baltic Competition of the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.