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Volume CXXXII, Number 23 |
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Murderous comedy at BCN
GREG SPIELBERG
ORIENT STAFF
There is a dark side to Brunswick. Spearheaded by the Bowdoin Cable Network and featuring over 35 students, Lonely at the Top hits Daggett Lounge and Smith Auditorium this weekend. The feature film premiered Thursday, May 1, to a packed and raucous crowd in Sills Hall.
For the past three months, the crew bared zero degree weather and strange stares from peers, utilizing campus space from Dayton Arena to the security office. Written primarily by Monica Guzman '05 and Matt Volk '03, the dark comedy follows a string of seemingly unrelated brutal stabbings.
Dexter (Ben McGuinness), a deranged Brunswick resident who has been rejected by college admissions 18 years in a row is the reserved but deadly protagonist in this highly anticipated feature. While security guards and the Bowdoin administration struggle to keep the situation under wraps, Dexter eludes notice, slaying tour guides one by one.
The lethal plot is uncovered by the overachieving, straight-laced Whitney Sharp (Sara Bodner) who attempts to convince her friends (LaTricia Sealy and Sam Cohan) of the truth. In the vain of a traditional slasher film, she is constantly greeted by disbelief while the campus headcount steadily drops.
Directed by Steven Gogolack and edited by Philip Sharp, the film lacks all the mistakes that one would expect from a student production. The murderous comedy flows seamlessly from scene to scene, taking advantage of dismal Maine weather and the school's architecture. In one scene, Sharp flees the killer in Smith Union's slowly ascending maze. Without high-tech special effects, Lonely at the Top satirizing its own murder scenes in a well done blend of comedy and suspense. Especially impressive is a show-down in the stacks Truffaut than language media center.
"Lonely at the Top" is about a Bowdoin student, Whitney Sharp who becomes aware of several murders occurring on campus, and takes it upon herself to figure out who's behind the crimes. The murderer, Dexter is one that was rejected by Bowdoin College and seeks revenge upon a corrupt system by killing students in order to lower the school's national ranking, while the President and Deans try to cover it up in order to preserve the school's image. With the help of her friends and clues along the way, Whitney pieces together the mystery. The film is not exactly a horror film, but more of a parody or dark comedy and is sure to make you laugh without any excessive gore or focus on violence. It is a fun movie and was produced not as part of a film studies project or independent study for credit, but purely for fun.
The film, "Lonely at the Top" is primarily the brainchild and masterpiece of Matthew Volk, a senior and head of BCN. Last spring during finals week, Matt wrote the story in twenty-four hours, with a little help of his two roommates, Andy Cashman and Steven O'Malley. In December, an outline of the story was given to Monica Guzman, who wrote the screenplay. The movie began shooting in January, and with the exception of a few final touches, was shot in a short six weeks with a cast and crew working six days a week. The movie was directed by sophomore Steve Gogolak, and co-produced by Gina von Shack. The film was edited in five weeks by Philip Sharp, and is being put out by Pine Films, who also brought you the miniseries, The Tower, and the twenty-four hour reality show, The Bubble.
Matthew Volk, after previewing the film and glimpsing at the trailer online, says, "This film exceeded my expectations. I am very proud of the way it turned out and I sincerely hope that it is enjoyed by Bowdoin students". In reflection, some of the favorite scenes to shoot were the ones that required a group of fifty extras in the Daytona Hockey Arena, and the scene that was shot in front of the Chapel (before it was devoured by construction), when it was -2 degrees outside, in which the camera froze and the cast and crew stood outside for a full three and a half hours.
The film is quite a remarkable achievement and should prove worth it to all those curious enough to find out how talented these ambitious filmmakers are. The premiere is on Thursday, May 1st in Smith Auditorium (tickets required) and the two open screenings for the public are: Friday, 8pm in Daggett Lounge, and Sunday, 7pm in Smith Auditorium (Sills Hall).
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