IMDb user comments for
Out of Season (2004)

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14 comments in total

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Best Hopper flick since Blue Velvet!, 22 December 2003
Author: SeeeDoubleU from London, England

I was lucky enough to get a preview of this film in London, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's quite a gripping drama/thriller that unfolds against the backdrop of a bleak,non-descript seaside resort as it shuts down for the season. I don't want to give too much away about the story line, but the movie it most reminded me of is The Grifters. The acting quite literally blew me away. There are 3 standouts performances though. I think Dennis Hopper gave his best performance since Blue Velvet. In certain scenes his emotions are so raw you feel it in your stomach--Oscar calibre stuff. Jordan Frieda (Lulu's son) delivers as Pierre the protagonist (and I use the term protagonist very loosely). And David Murray--oh my... This guy just exudes evil as Simeon. Shame that the AFI's list of Greatest Movie Villians has already been published. He will definately make the list when it's refreshed. Simeon is the most complex character in the film and David Murray plays him perfectly. Excellent direction by Jevon O'Neill--he has created quite a haunting movie, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end and will leave you with a sense of longing for the other half of humanity--the good half.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Degrading, 16 October 2005

Author: gridoon

"Out of Season" is not an unambitious or uninteresting movie. It tries to present six different characters, and two parallel plot lines that eventually cross each other's paths. But this is another one of those movies where the director tries to impose his "style" (tilted camera angles, slow-motion, strange close-ups, etc.) on almost every shot - this is obtrusive and distracting. And he really overreaches when he tries to turn this story of human greed into some kind of "religious" tragedy. Ultimately, it's an unpleasant and (in Dennis Hopper's case) degrading film. Most of the actors do what they have to do to collect their paycheck, nothing more. The standout is David Murray, who plays a convincingly hateful scumbag. Dominique Swain has one or two sexy moments (no nudity though). (**)

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
There's No Such Thing as a Happy Ending, 9 December 2006

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It is out of season and the temporary employee Pierre (Jordan Frieda) of an amusement park seaside has all his savings stolen by the crook Simeon Guant (David Murray), a friend of his girlfriend Kelly Phillips (Dominique Swain). Kelly is daughter of the owner of the park, Michael Philipps (Jim Carter), who is married with Eileen Phillips (Gina Gershon). Eileen cheats her husband with Simeon, and they plot to kill Michael simulating a burglary and get his life insurance. Pierre, without any money, associates to the owner of a bar, the former thief Harry Barlow (Dennis Hopper), who teaches him how to burglar. The reunion of these six characters has no happy ending.

"Out of Season" is an unsuccessful attempt of neo-noir movie. The amoral characters are all losers, cheating, betraying, blackmailing, stealing, corrupting etc. and it is impossible to feel sympathy for any character of this dark and unpleasant story. Gina Gershon plays the fatal woman and is very sexy as usual. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Temporada de Crime" ("Season of Crime")

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
didn't like this movie AT ALL!, 15 October 2005

Author: dspetrina from United States

I really like Dennis Hopper from Easy Rider on......yuck! Total waste of time! It was definitely a "B" movie. I could not find anything redeeming in it. By the way, this is the first time I have ever taken the time to comment on a movie, but this one really did me in. Had to go to a Dennis Hopper site to see what he was doing these days, and he's doing a lot---maybe that's the reason--should have turned this one down! Can't say much about the other actors in film. Just finished watching it, and already it's a blur. I would think Dennis Hopper at this point in his life, could pick and choose the really good parts. Had to do 5 other things while watching just waiting for the ending....glad I didn't pay money for this.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Hello darkness my old friend, 3 June 2005

Author: d-leigh from United Kingdom

Screenwriter and director Jevon O'Neill has brought us a modern morality film for the age, worthy of its medieval stage predecessors. Themes of lust, money, sadism, scheming and religion fuel this gravity ride of a finely detailed plot to its inevitable conclusion.The film begins its full circle with drifter Pierre looking out to sea toward the light. Indeed, the use of light, darkness and grayness can be seen as a further metaphor throughout, and is exquisitely crafted. Harry soon develops into Pierre's clichéd mentor, but without giving too much away it can be said that Dennis Hopper's performance as the film progresses redeems more than just the development of Harry as a character. Likewise, fairground owner Michael (Jim Carter) begins with a curiously unconvincing mid-Atlantic accent, which mellows as the plot unfolds. His scheming daughter and sadistic wife are well casted as Gina Gershon and Dominique Swain. Simeon's complex motives are the key to understanding the plot, and David Murray's drawing of the character detail is a screen masterpiece. Out of Season is unlikely to achieve mainstream success, but could conceivably become a cult classic in the footsteps of, say, The Wicker Man.

"You can take your chances on the other rides, this is the nearest to being alive."- Richard Thompson

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Flawed Attempt at Noirish Thriller, 17 June 2005

Author: Neal from UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The film was hurt by not clearly establishing where it was meant to be set. Since half the cast were American, I assume it was meant to be the US, but the rainy, out-of-season seaside resort with dodgy fairground rides seems much more reminiscent of Britain. The remainder of the cast sport a weird array of accents - Jim Carter attempts to sound American but not very convincingly, Jordan Frieda sounds like a British public schoolboy and I couldn't quite work out whether David Murray's Simeon was meant to be Irish or some other nationality.

The lack of a clearly defined setting meant it was harder to believe in the characters. They had no grounding or context. The film was intended to be a kind of Greek tragedy but I found it unconvincing and relying too much on coincidence. Plus points were Dennis Hopper (who is always superb) and David Murray, who exuded a powerful and menacing presence as the chief evil-doer.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
An honest look at the dark side, 26 December 2006

Author: pritalnyc from United States

The story takes place after the tourist season in a small town near the ocean. They have a saying in this town, "We all go a little crazy in the off season." And thats exactly what they do.

There are 6 main characters in this movie. Each one has their own angle and is looking out for number one. Deception, manipulation and greed are what drives the characters. The movie is about human nature and the way people react (good or bad) in the heat of the moment. Remember, "If you stay still you're dead."

The style in which this is shot and the colors in this movie are awesome. There is a lot of texture and attention to detail. All of this adds to that noir feel. The characters are portrayed very well and the acting is superb. Its amazing how real they are. A real honest look at the dark side. Ten stars. If you like mystery/thrillers about con men, burglars, drifters and life on the run, then you owe it to yourself to see this movie.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
low life dreams well described, 21 September 2006

Author: amparker-1 from New Zealand

I liked the movie. The characters matched the setting perfectly. The characters are shifty and edgy and not quite right as is the decaying off season amusement park where they hover. The movie was possibly too violent at the end but the viewer could see that the rot would never come to a peaceful resolution.Their Low life dreams were well described. I liked the bleakness of the unused boardwalk, the sounds of the rides being tested, the rain bucket which catches water from a leak that would have been there for years. Mary Poppins would not like this neighborhood . And the characters who cling there dream small time dreams...small scores which they think are big but the viewer knows are not worth the effort.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Flawed and retarded, 8 October 2005

Author: dilbertsuperman from Baghdad

Pierre wants to be a thief- Dennis Hopper takes him under his wing with the backdrop of an out of season amusement park as their home base. There are a few moments that are OK but for the most part the acting is flat and the story very dull. This is a movie that is severely lacking in a lot of elements and it will leave you wanting the time you spent watching it back. Dennis Hopper plays a better role than usual, but that's only because his usual level of acting lately is so poor. So when he plays an average role it seems like a big deal these days. Bottom line, miss this movie it is dumb and flat. The most appealing thing in this film is the villain, who I wound up rooting for because I was sick of the dumb characters.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Great, I loved it., 8 January 2008

Author: atkerr from Canada

Wow, having just watched the movie and then read the comments, I'm struck by the differences of opinion on this one. Some hate it, some love it. I'll put myself in the "I love it" column. It's a dark and gritty film with generally unsympathetic characters and maybe a tad too many off-kilter viewing angles but I couldn't take my eyes off this film.

Yes, there's violence, but that's not uncommon these days. There's a mixture of accents, which seems to bother some people more than others. It didn't bother me; people move around and it's unreasonable to expect all people to sound alike.

It's a mysterious type of film; even after watching it, you'll likely wonder what such-and-such was all about. That's OK: it means you're still living through the action. It didn't all stop when the credits started to roll.

Ignore the negative comments and give this one a go. I give it a TEN.

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