NEVERLOST
Director: Chad Archibald
Writer: Chad Archibald
Stars: Emily Alatalo, Ryan Barrett, Jennifer Polansky
Reviewed by: Char Hardin
Category: Fantasy ? Thriller
NEVERLOST
?Her name was Kate??
Josh Higgins lost the love of his life in a fire. Picking up the pieces of his life, he tried to move on. He met and married Megan. For three years they struggled to lead a normal life and all the while their marriage crumbled all around them. Josh withdrew from his wife and developed a severe case of insomnia.It is the opening scene of NEVERLOST that gave a glimpse into Josh?s head. Clouded with pain and riddled with violence and uncontrollable desire to kill his wife, Megan, offered the viewer a little comedic flare. It was from those first moments, of seeing Josh and how he saw his life; that the story took a turn toward the darker aspects of Josh?s feelings and what will lead him, to the impossible dream?Kate.
?C?mon Doc, no herbal shit or breathing exercises this time?I need real drugs.?
A return doctor?s visit finally yielded aid in the form of a prescription of little blue sleeping pills. The doctor made Josh promise, to follow up with a psychiatrist. The doctor thought a psychiatrist would better be able to determine what had caused the insomnia. The pills that were meant to put Josh in a relaxed state of rest; became a key into unlocking a life, which had been denied Josh when Kate died.?Where am I??
?This is a dream.?
When I watched this movie, I wondered if it was a dream sequence. That any second, he would wake up and realize it was just a dream and sink further into depression. This movie reminded me of the Nicholas Cage movie with Tea Leoni, THE FAMILY MAN. Cage?s character, Jack Campbell was a self centered son of a bitch, that was given a glimpse, into what might have been, with a past lover played Kate Reynolds, (Tea Leoni). The whole time Cage was ?seeing how the other half lived?; he was actually living it and was awake and aware. NEVERLOST is very similar, except it is tied by medical condition that is mentioned toward the end of the movie. So the viewer or in this case me, had to ask is it REAL or just a DREAM??Why would you do that??
?Do what??
?Wake Me! You know I can?t g?d damn sleep!?
Lines are blurred and Josh shifted from one reality to another and it was when he is awakened by his wife, I actually started feeling sorry for her character. She is the replacement for KATE. She is alive and yet she can?t compete with a ghost, for the affections of her husband. She endured her own struggles that started to build, until she couldn?t take it anymore. Megan and Josh argued, and the fight set the course, for a deadly consequence which further impacted Josh from making a continual or permanent connection with Kate.?I?m always here??
I really liked this movie. It struck a chord with me and my own experience with losing someone very close to me. Many a night, I have wept and wondered what I would do, to steal, beg or borrow, just a little more time, with my loved one. Would I kill for it? Could I kill for it? What would anyone do to get back that time? In NEVERLOST, I can?t tell you, because it will spoil the ending. But it was SHOCKING!I watched these characters suffer. NEVERLOST is a tear jerker, it is beautifully portrayed by the actors Ryan Barrett (Josh), Emily Alatalo (Kate), Jennifer (Megan) Polansky. This cast took me, through every emotion possible in the dealings their happiness, bitterness, joy, betrayal, poignant to bittersweet to tragedy. The ending will leave you breathless! It is quite possibly the BEST LOVE STORY OF 2011.
8.5 out of 10
NEVERLOST INTERVIEW
Chad Archibald and Ryan Barrett
(Beware there may be spoilers)
Chad Archibald (WRITER/DIRECTOR)
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Where did the idea for NEVERLOST come from?
Chad: I wanted to make a love story that was different from the template love stories that everyone rehashes. I also wanted to hit on that emotion of lost love because I?ve often thought about how horrible that would be and I think, that most people would agree. I use to say, that the film was Requiem for Dream meets The Family man with Nicholas Cage ha-ha. Aside from that, I just started writing one day and thought of how amazing it would be after losing someone you loved, to be able to go back, for a moment and experience life with them for even a few second. Then, how obsessed you would become trying to get back there, to be with them again.
Were any of the characters based on real people?
Chad: I think elements of a lot of these characters come from people I?ve met and remember. I know Josh?s mother is based on my mom. She?s a sweetheart! I even shot the parents, in the film at my parents? house. As far as Kate and Meg, I just took elements of multiple people I?ve met and mixed them together to create the good and bad that is Kate and Meg.
When you wrote this story, did you know who you wanted to play the roles Josh and Kate?
Chad: I had actually told Ryan Barrett, that he was too big and muscular for the role of Josh. He had just played a role, where he had to bulk up. He had read the script, well before casting started and loved it, so being the kind of person he is, he decided that he wouldn?t take no for an answer and instantly went on a crash diet of some cabbage vinegar concoction and ended up losing about 30 pounds before casting. After 3 days of casting sessions and a ton of DVD submissions, I was pretty excited that Ryan had come back so strong and killed it. I went to his house and picked him up, to tell him and he thought I was going to let him know, that he never got it. I told him and he almost cried (he was seriously one of the happiest I?ve ever seen him). I knew right there, that we made the right choice. I?ve never looked back and I could not be more proud of his performance. I think he did fantastic! As for the girls, I had met them both in casting sessions and they both came in so strong, that it was an obvious choice. Emily and Jen worked so hard and I think it shows in the film. Since then we?ve all become great friends!
There were a couple of scenes where Josh took a fall and the first one looked real or was it movie magic? And Jennifer had one scene that looked quite painful.
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Chad: When Josh first falls, he actually fell super hard. He was like ?I?m really going to sell this?. Then when he fell, he actually hit his head. He slowly looked up at us and blood started dripping from his head! He was okay, but yeah he sold it! That?s the kind of actor he is!
Chad: When Jen fell, everyone went, ?OHHHHHH? because she fell so hard, but she was just like, ?What? I?m fine. Why did it look bad?? ha-ha!
Lots of tears were shed during this movie not only from the actors but me as well watching the story unfold. Were these scenes hard to shoot in one shot?
Chad: There was a few takes that we did just one of because their performance was so good. I know the crying scenes were tough for all the actors. They worked so hard to get there and really make their anguish come across.
RYAN BARRETT (JOSH HIGGINS)
Chad, said that you lost weight for this role. It was one of the many ?details? I had written down in my notes.
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Ryan: Yeah, I lost over 40 lbs for the role, most of it during the scenes where I was in Kate?s world, the ones with my head shaved, I was about 25/30 lbs less than normal. Glad it was noticeable, and then it was worth it.
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There were many ?crying? scenes in NEVERLOST for you and Emily. Where do you go or what do you think of to cry on the spot?
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Ryan: When there?s a scene like that, it usually takes a quiet and calm set, and to simply believe the situation and be in that moment for me. I don?t really draw on past memories or anything like that; it?s more, so just trying to get in touch with how that situation would fell to me.
POSSIBLE SPOILER QUESTION WILL NOT BE INCLUDED
?I had several questions for Ryan Barrett and he graciously answered them all. But they are questions that will be seen as SPOILERS and could not be reworded to be included in this interview, without giving too much away. Just know when you see NEVERLOST, and you scratch your head, over who the bowl of tomato soup is for?it is for Josh. Later in the movie, Kate mentions briefly the condition of which Josh suffers, from when he is in his alternate state or as Ryan says in ?Kate?s World?.
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I have an eye for ?details? that stuck out when I was watching NEVERLOST. One being when Josh and Megan are at the grocery store and they are shopping on the one particular aisle, I noticed the majority of the products had their back labels facing the customer. Instead of have the front label with the brand and name facing the front. I thought this was odd and asked Ryan.
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Ryan: Ha-ha, glad you caught that Char! It was actually something Chad had to do as a precaution for copyright issues, and to not inadvertently do a product placement, it?s tough for small indie films, because you can get into trouble from the companies, if they don?t approve being in the film, then Chad would have to blur out every label, which would be very distracting.
Josh had a photo album with newspaper clippings about how Kate died in house fire. In one, the headline said, ?Woman Burnt Alive?, but when the camera pans the door as the fireman (Chad Archibald) carries Kate?s body out, she doesn?t look ?BURNED? at all. Why is that?
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Ryan: The burned statements in that book (photo album), I think, were just to show the sensationalism of media, and to just get across to the audience, that she did die in the house fire. Chad chose not to show any close-ups of her burnt crispy in the flashback to steer away from getting off track and keep the audience in a sad state, to sympathize with Josh, as opposed to grossed out. The main point he wanted to focus on, I believe, was just that she had died in that house fire, which the audience would later learn set by SPOILER (I left the remaining remark off so as not to be a spoiler).
I had caught one other ?dirty? little detail, that I had previously promised not to mention in the interview?but it happens when Josh awakens in ?Kate?s world? alone and he leaves the bed and stumbles. Kate helps him back to bed. Curious if the ?dirty little secret? will be included final version of the movie when it premieres June 9, 2011 in Toronto?
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Ha-ha, Ryan?I guess we will just have to wait and see if Chad cleans up the ?dirty little secret?, ha-ha!
Chad, You posted as the premiere date approaches you grow more nervous, why?
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Chad: I?ve done so much of the post on this film myself and have spent so many endless hours on reshoots and begging and pleading for things to finish this movie, that I?m dying to hear what people think!! And nervous!! I know it?s not really a horror film (I think that?s what people expect, before they watch it). It?s more like a dirty genre love story.
You are one of the first people to see the final cut of this film. I think only **8** others have seen it so far, so I?m curious to hear what you think.
NEVERLOST is HIGHLY Recommended to anyone who enjoys love stories with a fantasy twist. This movie is charged with emotional, mental and physical conflict, a poignant but tragic love story of two soul mates, which transcends the boundaries of Life and Death. NEVERLOST is clever and well written. It is my pick for ?THE BEST LOVE STORY FOR 2011?! BETTER than all the TWILIGHT MOVIES COMBINED!
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