AN austere and grim portrait of a dysfunctional family in rural Mississippi, “Ballast” sounds like one of those snoozers for which the Sundance Film Festival is famous.
But while this challenging drama – which won the top prize at this year’s Sundance – will never cross over to multiplex audiences, it’s impossible to write off Lance Hammer’s directing debut as navel-gazing pretentiousness – or, worse, a white director portraying black characters in a condescending manner.
Achieving an impressive level of performance from nonprofessional actors, Hammer opens with a neighbor discovering the heavyset Lawrence (Micheal J. Smith), who has shot himself after discovering his twin brother, Darius, died of a drug overdose.
Returning after weeks in the hospital in a state of near-catatonic shock, Lawrence is confronted at gunpoint by 12-year-old wild child James (JimMyron Ross). The film takes quite a while to spell out the relationships between Lawrence, James and James’ struggling and angry mother, Marlee (Tarra Riggs).
There is no love lost between Lawrence and Marlee, but the most important of the things they share is an abiding interest in protecting James, who has fallen in with a gang of drug dealers.
The vehicle for their possible salvation is a convenience store that Lawrence ran with Darius but has abandoned since his brother’s death.
“Ballast” seems to be partly influenced by “Killer of Sheep,” a little-seen, no-frills indie by black filmmaker Charles Burnett that was revived to acclaim a couple of years ago.
But Hammer, whose blunt name belies the movie’s many subtle touches, has his own distinct style. He also has an enormous trust in the audience to sort out this wounded family’s miseries without the assistance of narration or even a musical score.
BALLAST
A director to watch.
Running time: 96 minutes. Not rated (violence, profanity, drugs). At Film Forum, West Houston and Varick streets.