HIDE YOUR SMILING FACES - TRIBECA REVIEW

BY MATEO MORENO and MATTHEW CODY LANG

Haunting, moving, and performed and shot with pure honesty, Hide Your Smiling Faces tells the story of two brothers (Tommy and Eric) and how their everyday life is interrupted by unspeakable tragedy.  Eric (Nathan Varson) is the older brother at 14.  His younger brother Tommy (Ryan Jones) is 9 and spends all of his time running around the fields with his friends.  One dark afternoon one of their friends is involved in a horrific and mysterious event and suddenly all of the boys must quickly grow up and learn how to deal with the ripple effects it brings.  It also follows the aftermath of a town unable to comprehend what no one was there to witness.  They feel helpless and everyone begins to cope in their own ways.

Shot in long, improv feeling takes, the film makes you feel as if you are a fly on the wall, interrupting every so often into their lives.  We never leave the boys side, seeing the entire situation from their eyes and no one else's.  They adults in town are also all affected in various ways, but this story stays with the kids.  Writer/Director Daniel Patrick Carbone has crafted an elegant masterpiece here, showcasing loss rarely represented in this way.  The pain feels all too real, especially escaping from a child’s eyes.  As they struggle and change, we can only hope they're heading into the right direction (one seems to be, the other perhaps not).  Newcomers Ryan Jones and Nathan Varnson both strong a strong, subtle range here, usually reserved for a much more experienced actor.  They bring a realistic intensity to the roles of Tommy and Eric.  The dialogue is often sparse and naturalistic, sometimes feeling as if it's improved on the spot.  Relating to them on such a personal level is helped by the fact that you don’t recognize any actors here.  The unknown faces bring you closer into the reality of the situation.  Shot with beautiful precision by Nick Bentgen, Hide Your Smiling Faces will linger with you for days.

MATTHEW CODY LANG

Easily, one of my favorite films in years. Never have I seen childhood captured so perfectly on screen.  Most of the actors in this film are children and they all seem to lose themselves in this world that mustn’t be too far from reality. The film has essences of other childhood films such as Stand By me and even The Goonies. These kids are real and the emotions are real.  During one scene, the children try not to smile as their parents cry and try to console them after the discovery of the friend’s death. They have yet to fully grasp the situation and the surrounding emotions seem so intense and unusual that it becomes too awkward for them. This scene will stay with me for a long time because I have never seen anything so true to how children behave.  The playful curiosity also comes into play in a scene where too of the young friends want to see what kissing would be like. They put a transparent folder divider between the two of them and slap their tongues around it face to face. The scene is hilarious and shows just how careless the young boys are and how they really have growing up to do.

The shift change in the film is so sharp that it feels like a slap in the face (and that's a good thing). In the film, the boys behave in a manner where death doesn’t even seem like an option and all obstacles can be overcome. They play with dead animals, sneak into places, and roll around with a loaded gun. Each minute, you gasp wondering if one of them will get hurt. Once the body is found, there becomes a sense of danger that rises within the kids and many questions of death arise changing them all forever.

BOTH VERDICTS: A MUST SEE

Written and Directed by Daniel Patrick Carbone Starring Ryan Jones, Nathan Varnson, Colm O'Leary, Thomas Cruz, Christina Starbuck, Chris Kies COUNTRY USA Content Disclaimer (Adult Situations, Adult Language, Images of Violence)  For ticket and screening information: http://tribecafilm.com/festival/tickets

BOTTOM LINE: Truly haunting, this unassuming drama will linger.  The best film about childhood in years.