THE FORCE BETWEEN US

review written 12/10/2003

Note: Because I participated in this film as the titles designer and a prop contributor, I cannot in good conscience give it a grade and maintain any semblance of journalistic integrity. However I will share comments.

Eric Jones is a Star Wars fan. He is middle-aged, not that skinny, and lives with his father. And they don't get along. Part of this is because Eric doesn't have a job or a future. The other part is the fact that Eric dresses in a kids' Halloween costume. All the time.

The idea had promise, as did the opening shots—a beautiful pan over some action figures (though why is Qui-Gon holding his lightsaber by the blade? A Darth Kimball shout-out?) and some truly impressive footage from WindyCon in Chicago and at that city's Halloween parade. Extras in costume. It's beautiful.

But there's no sense of a driving force, no pun intended, behind this film. The idea is that Star Wars fandom is special to Eric because it gives him a sense of purpose. He and his friends believe in the Force and that makes them feel good. But if Eric is a devotee of the Force, why does he dress as a stormtrooper?

And why doesn't he take more pride in his stormtrooper armor? This guy's not getting into the 501st. While a pudgy guy in an ill-fitting off-the-shelf Halloween costume is amusing, it betrays the character for a laugh. (And if this armor is Episode I era as Eric claims, why does the father remember buying it when Eric was a child?)

When Eric goes to a convention, we expect something glorious, but instead get a talk with a guy in a Vader outfit in a hotel room. It becomes clear that the film lacks direction; the shots even fade from the same angle to the same angle at a different time, as if a time lapse needed to happen but there was no coverage, because there was nothing to look at, nothing to say.

It's unfortunate that this picture runs out of gas so quickly. The idea of a grown-up geeky fan and a father—a washed-up college athlete—who doesn't understand is touching. But things stop, and drag on. It doesn't help that I'm not sure we get to sympathize with the fan. You can never mock your hero.