''Putty Hill'' is a 2010 American independent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Matthew Porterfield Matthew "Matt" Porterfield (born October 6, 1977) is an American independent filmmaker. He has made four feature films to date, ''Hamilton'' (2006), ''Putty Hill'' (2011), ''I Used to Be Darker'' (2013) and ''Sollers Point'' (2017). ''Putty Hill' ...

, and starring

Sky Ferreira Sky Tonia Ferreira (born July 8, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, model, and actress. As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloodsh ...

, Zoe Vance, and James Siebor. The plot focuses on friends and family who gather to remember a young man in the aftermath of his death and attempt to reconstruct his last days.

Plot

The film revolves around a community of friends and family as they cope with the untimely death of a young man named Cory in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Throughout the film the characters engage one on one with the camera discussing their relationship to Cory and their reactions to his death.

Cast

as Jenny, Cory's Cousin; Spike's Daughter. *Zoe Vance as Zoe, Cory's Older Sister. *James Siebor as James, Cory's Brother. *Dustin Ray as Dustin, Cory's Best Friend. *Charles Sauers as Spike, Cory's Uncle; Jenny's Father; Cathy's Brother. *Cathy Evans as Cathy, Mother of Cory, Zoe, James and Marina; Spike's Sister. *Virginia Heath as Virginia, Cathy and Spike's Mom. *Cody as Cody, Dustin's Brother. *Casey Weibust as Casey, Zoe's Best Friend. *Drew Harris as Geoff, Cory's Neighbor, Ashley's Brother. *Marina Siebor as Marina, Cory's Younger Sister. *Jimee Buchanon as Jimee, Cory's Friend; Ashley's Neighbor; Mary's Boyfriend. *Mary Pozoulakis as Mary, Cory's Friend; Jimee's Girlfriend. *Aurora Corey as Aurora, Jenny's Childhood Best Friend. *Liz O'Brien as Liz, Aurora's Friend. *Ashley Ocfemia as Ashley, Aurora's Friend; Geoff's Sister. *Ian Burke as Ian, Cody's Friend. *Joseph Mooney as Joe, A Friend of the Family. *Carol Ray as Carol, Cody and Dustin's Mom. *India Streeter as India, Cody's Girlfriend. *Alex Herbskerman as Alex, Zoe's Friend. *Lucie Stahl as Lucie, Zoe's Friend. *Julia Arredondo as Julia, Zoe's Friend.

Filming

Filming took place in and around

. The film is noted for utilizing mainly nonprofessional actors who play themselves in a fictional story. Much of the dialogue was created through conversations Matthew Porterfield had with the actors prior to filming. The director names mainly European directors as influences, such as

Pedro Costa Pedro Costa (born 30 December 1958) is a Portuguese film director. He is best known for his sequence of films set in Lisbon, which focuses on the lives of the impoverished residents of a slum in the Fontainhas neighbourhood. Biography After com ...

and

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

Reception

''Putty Hill'' was premiered at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

reviewed the film giving it 4 out of 4 stars. The film was designated a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Critic's Pick as well. The film had its Baltimore premiere within

Maryland Film Festival The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each May in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival ...

to two sold-out screenings in May, 2010. It was acquired for U.S. distribution by

The Cinema Guild The Cinema Guild Inc. is a film distribution company. It was established by Philip and Mary-Ann Hobel, producers known for their work in documentaries and features, including the film ''Tender Mercies''. Since 1968, the Cinema Guild has been a ...

. ''Putty Hill'' currently holds a rating of "75%" based on 28 reviews from critics.

References

External links

* * *
Matthew Porterfield - Filmmaker Magazine

N1FR Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putty Hill 2010 films 2010 drama films American independent films Films set in Baltimore Films shot in Baltimore American drama films 2010 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films