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Chalk

2000, Movie, NR, 145 mins

Chalk: Review

Many films aspire to have the suffocating atmosphere of this drama about small-time pool hustlers; few come close. Middle-aged, reformed junkie Earl Watson (Edwin Johnson), a one-time pool hustler in failing health, owns the run-down Crabtree Pool Hall in Richmond, CA. Dark, cramped and scummed over with an oily sheen of desperation, the Crabtree is home to Watson's son Jones (Johnnie Reese) and his adopted brother TC (Kelvin Han Yee). A naturally gifted pool player, TC is nevertheless a disappointment to Watson; he lacks the nerve and drive to parlay his talent into real money, and seems content to hustle amateurs with Jones. Then Jones sets up a high-stakes match with a tournament player, the sleazy Dorian James (co-screenwriter Don Bajema), and pressures TC into playing. The film culminates in a match that's almost unbearably suspenseful, despite the deceptively simple staging and virtual absence of music; the action is instead underscored by the gentle click of balls and the muffled wail of a faraway train. Shot on video and transferred to film, this richly photographed picture by longtime independent filmmaker Rob Nilsson is real noir — not as a flashy stylistic device, but showing the darkness visible in blighted lives and troubled souls. Bajema (a spoken-word artist and frequent Nilsson collaborator) and Yee are the only professionals in the cast; the rest are members of the Tenderloin Action Group, a San Francisco workshop for street people founded by Nilsson. Their life experiences helped shape the script and add complexity to their largely improvised performances. The film is a little long, and the relationships between characters aren't always clear. On the one hand, it's nice not to be spoon-fed information, but on the other, you expend an awful lot of energy sorting out basic facts that might be better spent otherwise. Overall, it's an emotionally devastating experience, character-driven and darkly haunting. leave a comment --Maitland McDonagh