USA | 82 MINUTES | English |
UNCERTAIN
Drama, Female Director(s), Comedy, Documentary, Female Screenwriter(s)
A keen observation of a sun-dappled and still-watered swamp, Uncertain contemplates a frequently overlooked and enigmatic town whose lake, and only real source of income, comes under threat from an aquatic nuisance of the botanical variety. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a site so-named, there is a lack of consensus about the Texas town's origin: whether the result of a surveyor's confusion when marking an early map, or steamboat captains' belief that docking there was an unknowable, impossible task, an auspicious beginning is offered for the unsettled and yearning inhabitants. With beautiful, vivid imagery and a haunting mood, this observational documentary presents the particulars of the town as seen through the eyes of residents that include a fishing guide with a thick, southern drawl and a dangerous past; a former addict with a vendetta against a local wild boar; and a young man decrying small town decay, but ultimately trapped by it. Uncertain offers a nuanced look at a quirky town and its residents during tumultuous change.—Dominic Davis