Not Your Unusual Coming-Of-Age Story

Not Your Usual Coming-of-Age Story

Bruce Von Stiers

Matt, Cole and Alec are best friends. They are in their last year of high school and pretty much all they do is party. But things change, and not necessarily for the better, when Alec leaves for college.

This is the foundation for the film The Doldrums. It is a comedy but has some dramatic emphasis at times.

The way that life changes for the trio is shown in a series of vignettes. These vignettes are played out as Alec's trips back home from college. Although Alec is maturing and moving toward adulthood, Matt and Cole seem to be stuck in a high school era party mode. All they seem to want to do is hang out, get high, and drink.

Leonardo Nussenzveig was the director and screenwriter for the film. He has stated that the film was loosely based on his own experiences growing up in the metro Dallas area. Nussenzvieg has worked on several short films. Landscape is a short film that he wrote and directed in Prague as part of a NYU study abroad program.

Audrey Lin was the cinematographer for the film. Previously she was the cinematographer for the short film Hasta Domingo Soy Gringo. It was edited by Harrison Brenner.

The production companies for the film were Pindorama Pictures, Spacesuit Media and Neon Shark Media.

Nick Hansell starred as Alec. He previously co-starred in The Haunting of Julia Fields. In addition to acting, Hansell has also worked as an assistant location manager for The Flight Attendant, Dollface and Shameless.

Matthew Price played Matt. He was featured in the 2022 short film Honey. Matthew Handley played Cole. Per the IMDB listing for the film, this is his first screen credit.

Other people appearing in the film included Chris Bryan, Cecilia Campesi, James Drake Coleman, Donna Morrell Gafford, Brandon Greene and Tamara Hubert.

Also appearing in the film were Trey Albright, Joe Bunner, Jonathan Chappell, Dalton Chase Crawford, Tavond Francis, Kyle Gardner, William Harrington and Ryan T. Johnson.

One of the vignettes featured a character named Emma. She was played by Emma Evans, who in addition to acting in the film, co-produced it and was its casting director.

In a way, I can relate a bit to what Alec goes through with his friends. My senior year of high school, I got a part-time job working at a telecommunications company. The day after graduation, I went from part-time to full-time. All through my senior year I was friends with a guy who liked to party a lot. After graduating and having a full-time job, my partying time was limited. So, we drifted apart. I made new friends and rarely saw my old partying buddy. I sort of grew up and somewhat matured. But it took my friend a while longer, I think.

The Doldrums is not one of those coming-of-age stories that has been overdone through dozens of films over the years. It does contain some of those elements, but more so, It shows the progression of Alec's maturity that is in stark contrast to where Matt and Cole's lives are heading. Although it is a comedy, there are dramatic and sometimes dark moments in the film.

The Doldrums was an Official selection for the 2021 Marina Del Rey Film Festival. It was nominated for Best Feature Film for the 2022 Golden Gate Film Festival and received an award nomination at the 2023 Dallas International Film Festival.

The Doldrums is now available on VOD and streaming on multiple platforms, including Amazon, iTunes and Google Play.

You can find out a bit more about The Doldrums at Leonardo Nussenzveig's website at https://www.leonardonussenzveig.com/

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _