When I see a film at a festival, sometimes I think, ‘This one's going to find an audience,’ or ‘That one is better off sealed and buried.’ Kevin McMullin's "Low Tide" was one that I assumed would find its way to a general audience. It was one of my personal faves from the 2019 Tribeca Film festival. Not that it's great, but it has enough to indicate that McMullin and the cast may have a bright future.
Four teenaged boys - Alan (Keean Johnson), Smitty (Daniel Zolghadri), Red (Alex Neustadter), and Alan's younger brother Peter (Jaeden Martell) - live in a small town near the New Jersey shore. It's summer, and at night the boys like to break into homes, do a little stealing, and spend their newly-acquired cash on teenage things. They steal and hang out.
On this particular night, Peter joins the older boys when they break into the log cabin belonging to a recently deceased man. They are of the belief that he was a very wealthy man. Alan and Peter unearth a bag of gold coins hidden under the floorboards and hide it from the other boys, burying it in the woods.
Alan and Peter have two big problems facing them. The police suspect the group in the rash of burglaries, and Red, seemingly the craziest one of the bunch, is suspicious of Alan and Peter.
The rest of "Low Tide" is spent unraveling the mystery of the gold coins, the dynamics between the boys, and the hunt for the local young criminals. It's pretty straightforward stuff, but more than anything else it achieves the proper mood. Between the director and the portrayals there are no weak links, and it may turn out to be a film that people look back upon for a few different reasons. For now, let's think of it as a neap tide that could grow with age.
| Movie title | Low Tide |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2019 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This indie thriller’s not a tidal wave of entertainment, but the waters are churning quite nicely. |
