The slacker, hangout movie is a bit of a dying breed these days. Finding its heyday in the 1990s with the works of directors like Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith, the genre has almost entirely slowed down to a halt in today's market. Equally so, you can't spend two minutes on the internet without somebody screaming in your ear about how cinemas and the film industry are dying (Orson Welles was saying the same thing in the 50s but sure, go off). So what do you get when you take the two and mix them together? A slacker, hangout movie about the last days of a movie theatre of course!
Somehow, this feature film directorial debut from twenty-three year old Mas Bouzidi (developed from the director's 2021 short of the same name) is both a reminder of how little progress has been made in the slacker/hangout movie genre and why they should still be getting made, regardless.
Wearing its influences on its sleeve, it is hard to argue the accusations that Concessions is, overall, derivative, and lazy in its approach to referencing the films that came before it. After all, it has a washed up old Stuntman asking if he can attend a screening for free because he is in the movie (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), a young man arrested and held on the premises for most of the picture (Empire Records), and an employee complaining about his position in life before his friend/colleague finally gives him a reality check (Clerks).
The list doesn't end there and Concessions isn't afraid to lean into the tropes of the genre either. In spite of his youthful inexperience when it comes to feature filmmaking, Bouzidi manages to take these tropes and ideas from other movies and deliver them in a fun way, even when they do come dangerously close to simply ripping off other works.
The dialogue is incredibly funny (“That movie where Johnny Depp played the creepy paedophile … ”, “Willy Wonka?”) and the comedic timing from both the director and his stars is genuinely impressive and expertly used in the scenes between the ushers and the customers.
There is one scene in particular, however, that truly shows the talents of Mas Bouzidi as a director. The scene features Greg Roman as a character credited only as “The Theater Philosopher” as he walks through an auditorium, philosophising about the movies and his relationship with them in a sequence that is simply astonishing.
Although the material itself might be nothing we haven't seen before, the actors make it work. The revolving cast of characters that constantly find themselves wandering into the theatre are all fun and charming, but the key cast members are also a delight to watch. Steven Ogg brings a fun maturity as the owner of the theatre, and Lana Rockwell is cool as ice as the easy-going Deana. Rob Riordon and Jonathan Price, the two leads whose relationship is the central point of the entire film, work well together as a duo, creating a great rhythm and bouncing well off each other, even if their story is a little predictable.
What makes Concessions work, though, is it's meditation on the movies and why we love them. On the closing night of the theatre, all of its inhabitants find a moment to consider their relationship with the picture palace, and the results are surprisingly moving.
Concessions might not be the most original film you are bound to see this year, and the transparent references and humour of the feature are sure to turn some audience members away. However, there is a lot of heart to this picture, and its charming nature is sure to win many over. There is certainly room to improve for the young writer-director of the film, but Mas Bouzidi's talents are there for all to see, and he is only certain to grow from here.
Concessions screened at Edinburgh International Film Festival
