Brooklyn 45, 2023.
Written and Directed by Ted Geoghegan.
Starring Anne Ramsay, Ezra Buzzington, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ron E. Rains, and Kristina Klebe.
SYNOPSIS:
Five military veterans, best friends since childhood, gather together to support their troubled host, and the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.
It is unquestionably terrifying that xenophobic or bigoted paranoia can come for and latch onto otherwise seemingly decent human beings. Writer/director Ted Geoghegan’s suspenseful, dramatic social commentary wrapped up (perhaps too much) in the language and visuals of a ghost story, Brooklyn 45, points out that those horrors are strengthened in the aftermath of war, with survivors still looking and racial profiling for an enemy when one no longer exists.
As one might be able to deduce from the title, Brooklyn 45 takes place post-World War II. More specifically, it is set during the winter holidays inside a single location, the home of troubled veteran Lt. Col. Clive Hockstatter (an excellent Larry Fessenden, portraying that unsettling mental unrest). While trying to move on from grieving his wife’s tragic suicide, he invites comrades to drink, reminisce and socialize. Those friends are skilled interrogator Marla Sheridan (Anne Ramsay), her pencil-pusher husband Bob (Ron E. Rains), gay alleged war criminal Mjr. Archibald Stanton (Jeremy Holm), and no-nonsense Mjr. Paul DiFranco (Ezra Buzzington).
Clive has actually brought the squad back together to orchestrate a séance for his wife. He also encourages his friends to assist him by mentioning that it would be surreal and moving to make contact with their deceased fellow veterans. There’s a loaded, clever ghost story idea in the concept of soldiers potentially suffering from survivor’s guilt interacting with the ones that didn’t make it. That’s also not the only strong idea Ted Geoghegan has for this material, but when it comes down to it, unfortunately, Brooklyn 45 does feel like several competing ideas that run the overall narrative in circles before arriving at an admittedly unexpected jolt of a conclusion.
There is no ambiguity here; ghosts are real. It’s not long before Clive’s dead wife makes contact by raising her spectral arm from underneath and through the table. Understandably, there are budget constraints with the effects, although the filmmakers wisely aren’t attempting to do too much with them. The greater issue is that such overt paranormal elements feel at odds tonally with the grounded human drama on display. As a result, the metaphors become too literal, the messages become too blunt, and scenes such as a keyhole swallowing a key come across as silly and out of place rather than creepy. Some of this seems intentional, but that doesn’t mean it works. The performances are played far too straight and serious for any of this to mesh.
Without diving into plot specifics, German next-door neighbor Hildegard Baumann (Kristina Klebe) winds up inside the house, where Paul becomes convinced that she is a Nazi and must be killed. That also appears to be what the ghost wants before allowing anyone to leave the room. Brooklyn 45 uses this situation to further interrogate racial dynamics and the military lives of these characters (one of them found themselves doing something unspeakable in the heat of the moment), with levelheaded understanding coming from an unlikely party member.
However, the performances sometimes feel forced and overly stagey, containing unnatural delivery. Ted Geoghegan is undeniably ambitious here, poking and prodding from multiple social angles that often feel relevant to current times, but the flaws are tough to overlook. Nevertheless, Brooklyn 45 is an unpredictable effort and worth watching alone for the character dynamics and relationships it does try tackling, even if everything lacks subtlety.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
