Junction is the kind of uber-indie film that can tear you in half as a film critic, but in terms of a general audience recommendation is easy work. The difficult part is that somewhere, buried very deeply, there are small sparks of imagination and the kind of concept play you just don't get from a major release (or even most minor releases these days). In short, obviously, that's the power behind a good indie film, and to say that Junction misses completely in terms of the devilment and freshness anyone watching a micro-budget film is looking for would go too far. Unfortunately, such a statement would not go all that too far.
On the easy side of things, the film is a mess in every conceivable way, even allowing the necessary latitude inherent in a critique of such films. As a critic, the main response the movie managed in me was simply a kind of sympathy with those involved, who I am led to believe might be capable of far better things. As an audience, I cannot imagine the viewer who would make it to the end, much less find anything to take away from the effort.
A virtual primer on how not to develop your idea, the end product screams of being a student short gone wrong, expanded to feature length by throwing in random nonsense and working one minute scenes into five deplorable minutes or more. The real crime there is that someone with even passing abilities (something I think those involved may well have, even if misguided in this effort) could have worked this script into something that at a 20 or 30 minute run would have been inventive, enjoyable, and might have even had something to say.
The story is that of Michaela, a hopeful photojournalist with a somewhat odd upbringing, who quickly discovers that her family is even more odd than she thought. A message from her father, who is in prison, leads her to discover that she has two siblings she never knew about. We meet the sister, and said sister's meaninglessly insane mother, as Michaela begins a sort of photo-stalking adventure in order to get some idea of what her sister might be like.
There's something about the character's choice of insertion that is interesting (though unoriginal), and April Wade manages the initial workings of Michaela rather well. Beyond the first moments of introduction, uncertainty, and inner turmoil, however, the movie bogs down utterly as each new step in the progression is merely the result of insane behavior and insane choices. That is, when there is any connection at all between what you're watching and why you might be watching it.
Twists and hilarity ensue, but none of it gets anywhere. What might be moderately interesting spills out almost as an afterthought, and is buried in characters that serve no function, and laborious scenes that merely fill time. The film overall makes the particularly "young" mistake of believing that because you make a movie longer it is ipso facto longer, and as this effort proves, nothing could be further from the truth.
As a further note to aspiring filmmakers, when you have actors without a great deal of experience, who are being directed by directors with no experience, the number one rule is that you cannot make a scene too short. Only a really great actor can work air, and there's nothing about trying to develop your craft that should lead you to the idea of taking on the hardest possible aspect of filmmaking.
All that said, there are at least a few points of light. Somewhere in the concept is something that is at least interesting and daring, even if it is put together into rather a mess. It's still intriguing enough to hope for further efforts by those who put the script together (April Wade, Lira Kellerman, and James Ryan). As I've mentioned, April Wade isn't bad at all for a good portion of the film, but as things progress it seems that she just isn't sure where to go, and that's where she goes. She needs a few gigs being directed by someone who knows what that means, and then we might see some real potential push through.
It's a hard game when it comes down to really being rough on a true indie film, but someone has to be Simon, and it may as well be me. It's even harder when you can see some potential in various aspects of the process. There are those involved with Junction who I would encourage to work and develop, and maybe look at Junction with the most critical eye they can manage to see what they can take from it. But there is someone, I suspect, who is far and away the most responsible for the major creative decisions we see in Junction... and that person should stop making movies.
Rating: 
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About Marc Eastman
Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.
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