Uptown is a 2009 independent drama film written and directed by Brian Ackley as his debut feature film, and the second film in the One Way or Another Productions' "Naked Series".
Plot
Ben (Chris Riquinha), an aspiring filmmaker, is an unmarried man living in New York. He enjoys the single life but feels his life is missing something. He meets Isabel (Meissa Hampton), a woman unhappy in her marriage who is seeking intimacy. The bond between the two grows as they have repeated liaisons "uptown".
Cast
Chris Riquinha as Ben
Meissa Hampton as Isabel
Deirdre Herlihy as Beth
Derek M. McAllister as Kasheem
Production
Uptown was shot in an 8-day period with 2 cameras, using only available light and "stolen" Manhattan locations, including scenes that take place in Central Park. After a 2-week production hiatus, it was discovered that one of the cameras had been damaged, rendering everything that was shot on it as unusable. Only a few of those "lost" scenes were reshot.
Actor Chris Riquinha states that he previously worked with producer Princeton Holt on Holt's earlier film Cookies & Cream and that it was Holt who recommended him to writer/director Brian Ackley.
According to the production company, after Uptown won several festival awards, and while the film was still in the festival circuit, the film was picked up for distribution.
Recognition
The film was noted for its strong performances and its cinematography, although there was no specific cinematographer credited.
Critical response
Dave Nusair of Online Film Critics Society grants that while the director "generally does a nice job of capturing the awkwardness that's part and parcel with new relationships", the film itself "has been suffused with a pervasively uneventful atmosphere that ultimately proves oppressive." He points out that the director's low-key approach "wouldn't be quite so problematic had he managed to transform either of the central characters into fleshed out, thoroughly compelling figures", and that his inability to do so ensured "that it becomes impossible to work up any interest or enthusiasm in Ben and Isabel's tentative romance," due to the "relentlessly superficial nature of their conversations". And toward sound quality, Nusair makes note that the director's use of actual locations drowned out much of the dialog.
Conversely, The Independent Critic wrote that the in many such films, there is a tendency for a new filmmaker to "plunge headfirst into the depths of human emotion", but that "[w]isely, Brian Ackley avoids this potential temptation." He notes that "it is with intelligence, gentleness, grace and simplicity that Uptown explores the very real worlds" of its two protagonists, and also comments on the "similarly intelligent and patient performances from the film's leads."
James Wegg found that "Brian Ackley’s first feature is a beautifully crafted, superbly acted film that explores the symptoms, realities and emotions of a doomed but unstoppable relationship." He wrote that the "opening third of the film is a masterpiece of shotmaking," and that "Riquinha and Hampton make an endearing couple who convincingly reveal themselves gradually," giving their characters an "established unshakeable credibility".
Pulpmovies offers positive commentarty on the film, writing "[n]othing is rushed, though, and the real strength of Uptown is in the utterly natural way in which the relationship between these two characters is handled. The film’s writers wisely avoid excessively dramatic set-pieces preferring, instead, to allow a steadily deepening relationship between Ben and Isabel to follow its natural – and very believable – course. This approach gives the film a very gentle pace which director, Brian Ackley does a great job of handling in a nicely understated fashion." Noting that it was "very much an actors’ film", the complimented the work of the leads Chris Riquinha and Meissa Hampton, writing "[n]ot only do they bring their characters to life in a manner that is sympathetic and believable but both of their performances also feel frighteningly familiar."
Rogue Cinema wrote "Uptown is a cool little movie about men, women and the things we do when we're together. It's not a perfect movie, there are long stretches of conversation and walking that I felt a bit bored by, but overall, once you're drawn into the situation between these two star-crossed lovers, it'll have you wanting a happy ending."