Claustrophobics beware; Percival’s Big Night may not be the film for you. An exercise in lo-fi film making, William C. Sullivan’s feature is shot in one take on one camera in one room of a small New York apartment. The plot is similarly taught; Sal, a weed dealer (or self-coined ‘herbal entrepreneur’) and his aspiring actor housemate Percival wait for Chloe, the formers client and the latter’s hopeful love interest, to come over and pick up drugs thus giving Percival the opportunity to have his big night with her.
There is little room for much other than dialogue in such a tight set-up and that is what we get. The first 20 minutes are the two housemates, introducing the key characteristics of each one within seconds of their introduction. Sal is a weed dealer – you know by now what this entails and is predictably a mix between Seth Rogan style stoner and artsy style stoner, while Percival bar tends waiting for his acting break. He is also the romantic of the pair believing a 5 minute conversation he had with Chloe to be enough to convince him she’s the one. The conversation between the two housemates is that almost familiar style of talking where there’s an element of forced improvisation with each involved trying to get the last, droll humourous put down in before topics change. Insults are traded in the form of what some would call ‘banter’ before steaks are raised, truths are told and fights ensue. All this in 15 minutes leaves you wondering how a pair of stoners can pick up such energy for all of it but their bromantic bickering can only hold our attention for so long and thankfully the arrival of Chloe and friend Riku flesh out what was starting to look like an internet comedy.
The four soon share an impromptu double date centred around a bong and a lot of ease-dropping. There’s more than a sniff of mumblecore about the talky roots of PBN but it doesn’t quite match the oft-mimicked genre’s subtlety. Conversations grow from the minute to the life-changing in a matter of seconds as each character is treated to their own part of the mid-20’s ‘I’m lost’ realisation at the first hint of provocation. The self-analysis on show by Chloe and Percival in particular reach levels that make the ‘real time’ effect somewhat hard to believe. Characters go from being introduced to trading their darkest secrets and most vulnerable emotions without the presence of any form of catalyst.
Perhaps this is a bit harsh for what is an incredibly effective and cost-efficient production. Sullivan manages to keep our attention for the duration of the film with the largely improvised script holding a tight enough structure to ensure nothing feels flabby or overworked. However, the US indie scene is quickly becoming a repetitive and predictable one, one where a film like this only adds to the countless others within or closely nestled outside the Duplass mumblecore world and while there’s an admirable quality to the self-imposed limits of Percival’s Big Night there’s little that adds anything new to the scene.
Matthew Walsh
Rating:15
Screening Dates: Sunday 30 September (18:30) Wednesday 3 October(16:00)
Directed By: William Sullivan
Cast: Tommy Nelms, Jarret F. Kerr , Sarah Wharton