First time Writer and Director, H. Nelson Tracey hits a walk off grand slam with ‘Breakup Season‘ at the San Antonio Film Festival (SAFilm).
Family dinner scene in H. Nelson Tracey’s, ‘Breakup Season,’ showing at the San Antonio Film Festival (SAFilm).
You might wonder why a baseball metaphor was used for a film that has nothing to do with sports, that is because Chapman University alumnus, H. Nelson Tracey has presented an incredible film that most seasoned directors could not pull off for the older Millennials/older Gen Z, audience, something very much appreciated by those in attendance at the San Antonio Film Festival (SAFilm).
The ‘Breakup Season‘ follows Ben (Chandler Riggs, ‘The Walking Dead‘ ) and Cassie (Samantha Isler, ‘Captain Fantastic‘) as they take a trip over the Christmas holiday to Northeastern Oregon in order to spend time with Ben’s family. Things begin to spiral out of control when Ben’s older half-brother Gordon (Jacob Wysocki, ‘Pitch Perfect‘) begins to question Cassie’s dietary restrictions that leads to Cassie finally calling it quits on their relationship the first night of the trip. Unfortunately, the unhappy couple get snowed in and there is no escaping the try-hard efforts of Ben in trying to woo her back.
What is most impressive with Tracey’s work, is not only the casting but the effort that he made in visiting Oregon, but also speaking with local residents to understand the lingo of the region, instead of just projecting his image of small town America on to them, from the lenses of a Southern California local. The meticulous effort taken by Tracey to get the details correct, more than shows his drive as a filmmaker to be as authentic to the project and its performers as possible.
The casting of James Urbaniak and Brook Hogan (not to be mistaken for Brooke Hogan, Hulk Hogan’s daughter), showed a loving and supporting home base that go beyond folksy wisdom and true compassion, not only for their children but also for Cassie, making the best of a bad situation.
In one particular scene following the breakup, Kirby (Urbaniak) takes Ben on a long walk to the railroad tracks, thinking it was only because of love of trains, Bens seems disinterested in his father’s hobby. However, the method to the madness of trying to scream over the sound of the roaring train, in order to let out all his pain and anger, which gets drowned out to the world, was an ingenious moment of receiving the slightest bit of relief for a gaping wound.
Rounding out the cast Carly Stewart, who plays wanna-be social media influencer, Liz who is in the early stages of her own relationship found the perfect balance of all the characters in their various stages of their own love lives. Beginning with Gordon’s lost love while internalizing everything in order to not deal with his own grief. Ben’s recent breakup and current suffering of his breakup staring him in the face and finally Kirby finding love again with Mia (Hogan) leads one to believe that stages of life, death and rebirth are all shown within this one family dynamic.
Being Tracey’s written and directorial debut, there are no limits that he cannot exceed, as he has proven his abilities with ‘Breakup Season‘.
Follow ‘Breakup Season‘ on Instagram @breakupseasonmovie.
To find out about future screenings and release dates for ‘Breakup Season‘ visit their official website at www.breakupseasonmovie.com.
Follow the San Antonio Film Festival on Instagram @SAFilm.
To find out about more screenings at the San Antonio Film Festival visit: https://www.safilm.com/screenings.
Summary
‘Breakup Season‘ the anti-romcom that still gives hope for those feeling hopeless after a breakup is a phenomenal first time outing for writer/director H. Nelson Tracey.
