The Lonely Crowd - Review

If you throw a stone at a streaming service you will land on 10 rom-coms that tackle the “complications of dating in the modern world”. Something you may not land on, unless you’re on Amazon VOD and have a very good shot, is a rom-thrill, which is what I am dubbing The Lonely Crowd from David St. Clair. In his directorial debut, he bravely tackles the modern dating world while adding in a gun or two. Quip after quip lead you through the film, as scenes end on almost fourth wall level breaking jokes from our main character, Peter (Adam Wesley). Not to worry though, because his energy will be matched by love interest, Ash (Taylor Anne Danehower).

Only eagle eyed viewers will be able to pick up on this, but Peter is an ex-pitcher. An accident has forced him to retire from the sport, leaving him in a bit of a slump. He’s single, jaded and an ex-pitcher, just in case you forgot, as I said, only the most keen of cinephiles will pick up on this detail. His friend Matt (Blair Chambers) sets him up on a date with Ash through a dating app that genuinely seems to only have the most insane 1st dates on offer. They meet and quip at each other for a couple of minutes, before Ash spots a shifty man at the bar and swiftly exits without explanation. A further level of jadedness overcomes Peter, left to pay for a round of drinks that Ash promised were on her. Bigger problems quickly arise though, as Peter sees Ash being harassed by said strange man, Phil (Jon Oshei). His thing is swearing, he will be swearing in every line of dialogue. He’s also revealed to be working with Jake (Giancarlo Carmona), Ash’s ex. Jake wants the money that he stole in a heist that sent him to prison, and he will do whatever it takes to get it. Somehow, Peter is entangled in this mess and his hero complex takes him on an ever escalating journey of corrupt cops, hidden money and budding romance.

I can’t say this film delighted me. I can say that there certainly were parts of the film I enjoyed, I was never bored for one. The pace of the film doesn’t really let up for its entire runtime, taking you through a pretty interesting premise with some generally good dialogue. I did find a lot of it to feel like dialogue though, like a film that has been written and rewritten so many times to “tighten up” the conversations. This then makes it feel like quick back and forths of sarcasm and question dodging rather than people having actual conversations. While this is fun to listen to, it really only lets up towards the end of the film with some nicer long conversations. These come a little too late for me, as I was checked out on the evolution of the characters. The late stage connection means that the chemistry is off too, definitely lessening the “rom” side of the “rom-thrill”.

The story itself works for me, from premise to ending. I didn’t come into the film expecting a huge revelation at the end or a thought provoking message to leave with. From the trailer on YouTube, I think you can see what you’re getting yourself in for. Some fun vague action with likeable enough characters and a plot that will culminate in a presumed blossoming of love. I was surprised by the end though, with some nice conversations cropping up between Peter and Ash, and a thrilling conclusion to Peter’s baseball arc.

From a technical standpoint, it definitely falls short due to its budget. There is some good intention here, and for the most part, I think they do a good job with locations and camera work. The cinematography is not bad, it's just not doing anything beyond the ordinary, which is what I would also say about the score here. Although with the score, I was a little surprised to see it was actually all original music composed for the film.

While the score was original, the terrible stock footage was not. It is mostly used to transition us from scene to scene but instead it took me right out of the film, as I looked at grainy night footage of a city.

There is an intention and a knowledge of what they are looking to achieve with the film, just a lack of resources to pull it off.

The Lonely Crowd has the potential to give you an evening of entertainment, and hopefully acts as a nice stepping stone for David St. Clair to work on something after this. As I said, there is some good stuff in here, so when his next feature comes out, I expect an improvement to what he is already good at (dialogue and pacing) and then changes to the things that didn’t work here. I do want to shout out the film for crediting all the extras in the film, along with the production assistants. I think it says a lot about the team working on the film and their appreciation for the entire cast and crew that got the film to the place that most films don’t even make it to, release.

The Lonely Crowd is from David St. Clair and Desario Productions. You can stream it on Amazon Prime in the UK and rent it on VOD in other countries.