Rebuilding
A film like “Rebuilding” is renewing for me. It’s a reminder of the quiet pleasures of a simple narrative, told with weight and feeling. I watched this the same week I watched “Train Dreams,” and they both are telling the story of a man almost out of time, trying to navigate a simple life, even when tragedy strikes. The reason that “Rebuilding” resonated with me where “Train Dreams” fell short is because writer-director Max Walker-Silverman trusts his visuals to tell the story when words are not being spoken. Both have their value, but “Rebuilding” hit me right where I was looking to be hit.
Walker-Silverman’s last film was “A Love Song,” a quiet, lovely little character drama starring Dale Dickey and Wes Studi. That film also looks at people who simply want to live a life of their own making. They don’t have higher ambitions for wealth and status- they just desire a life that allows them to do what they want. “Rebuilding” has the same ideas at its heart, as a community of people find themselves stuck in a FEMA camp after a wildfire destroys their land and home. They do live in fire country, so it’s not unexpected, but for a man like Dusty (Josh O’Connor), it means a choice- try and rebuild, knowing he could be in the same situation down the road, or move on to a life unknown.
For Dusty, life on this land- 200 acres- was all that he knew. His ex-wife (Meghann Fahy) and her family were nearby, and he had easy access to his daughter, Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre). As he tries to get his life in order, he finds getting a loan to rebuild impossible- no one is going to finance to rebuild when the same cycle is likely to happen down the road- and there is a time limit to how long he can stay in the trailer at the camp. All he wants is a chance to stay. Maybe another opportunity- like working family land in Montana, for example- would suit him, as well, but that takes him further from Callie-Rose.
“Rebuilding” is a look at a man who is comfortable being alone, but also has people around him who are important, and help him live. This isn’t just about the narrative, though- as with “A Love Song,” there’s beauty in the images (shot by Alfonso Herrera Salcedo) and sounds (the score by James Elkington and Jake Xerxes Fussell is wonderful) throughout this film. They paint a portrait of middle America that doesn’t shy away from the difficulties of life there, but it also has a tranquil simplicity to it that is- for me, at least- appealing. It’s appealing for the other people at the FEMA camp with Dusty, as well. As we get to know them, we see people who only know one way to live, and are trying to sort out what’s next for them. When that answer comes later in the movie, we see what they choose, and none of the choices surprise us.
This is a film I just love. It’s simply, beautifully acted- with a standout performance also given by Amy Madigan as Fahy’s mother- and economically told in a breezy 95 minutes. I always love discovering movies like this, because it feels like a gift a filmmaker has given me that I never saw coming. I didn’t love it as much, but “A Love Song” was very much the same way.
