Farmer & Chase

It's easy to see why John Cassavetes' deceptively raw, near-improvisatory style is so appealing to incompetent young filmmakers. By making it look so easy, he's inspired a whole misguided generation not to bother figuring out the rules of script structure, camera setups, even acting. Case in point: Michael Seitzman's debut feature. Todd Field stars as Chase, a young loser who, like his petty-crook dad (Cassavettes' regular Ben Gazzara), is a nobody who yearns to become a somebody but doesn't have the first idea how. After Farmer's partner is killed in a botched robbery, Chase volunteers for the job, even though it's clear he hasn't the heart -- or, more to the poin...