4 out of 5

Director: Kellie Green

So look: is this a four-gibble movie, as I have rated it? Strictly speaking… no. But for an extremely low budget, independent movie, 5150 blows other films from this “genre” away. I’ve watched a handful of these films now, and generally speaking you have someone with enough confidence to assume they can helm a film producing something more amateurish and sloppy than someone without any proper training should be able to produce. Either that or you get hacks who think that technical skills (I can make choppy edits!) equate to fascinating film techniques. Alas, it mostly comes down to: can you tell a story? And while 5150 has some potential plot holes, and a pretty big twist to swallow, the surprising subtlety given to many of the details is very, very… uh, surprising. The acting is average, but the writing felt dedicated – not someone trying to sound flashy, but writing that made sense for the story. I will admit that the between-scene flash cuts were repetitive, but I sense that was transitional filler for the budget, and with some more money and time, this would have been edited in a less grating manner. Whatever. If you’re interested to see a sort of quirky spin on noir, bolstered by a ton of enthusiasm by the writer / director / main actor, and you can appreciate a worthwhile effort over a mind-blowing film, check this out. And kudos for never explaining the title. I had to look it up. This was surprisingly – and pleasingly – smart stuff from a no-budget.