Newly Single
PÖFF festival release poster
Directed byAdam Christian Clark
Written byAdam Christian Clark
Produced by
  • Adam Hendricks
  • John H. Lang
  • Greg Gilreath
  • Jordan Michaud-Scorza
  • James Dahl
Starring
CinematographyChristopher Hamilton
Edited byAlex O'Flinn
Production
companies
Distributed byGravitas Ventures
Release dates
  • November 27, 2017 (2017-11-27) (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival)
  • December 7, 2018 (2018-12-07) (US Limited)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Newly Single is a 2017 American arthouse meta dark comedy film written and directed by Adam Christian Clark.[1]

Set in Downtown Los Angeles over the course of a winter, the script focuses on the dark and often funny moments of a newly-single and increasingly abrasive filmmaker.

Plot

After ridiculing his girlfriend’s belief in Scientology, director Astor Williams Stevenson finds himself single and trying to discover what exactly it is he wants. At the same time he attempts to get a film off the ground and soon learns that his creative vision will not align with that of his crew. As Astor goes on a number of dates his abrasiveness and cynical attitude towards life seems to become ever more crystallised.[2]

Reminiscent of great American cinema of the 1970s with a somewhat staccato structure made up of disparate moments, it is still a thoroughly modern affair replete with some graphic sexuality and an often harsh takedown on modern views of dating.[2]

Cast

Production

The film's main location, Astor's apartment, was filmed in Clark's real-life apartment in Downtown Los Angeles' Continental Building.[3]

Release

Newly Single premiered in the main competition of the 2017 edition of PÖFF.[4]

The film was released in North America in 2018 by Gravitas Ventures.[5]

Reception

The film holds an 88% rating, on Rotten Tomatoes.[6]

The New York Times described the film as a dark comedy "probing the sexual and professional misadventures of a struggling filmmaker."[7]

Rob Aldam of Backseat Mafia called the film "a brilliant take on narcissism and a total lack of self-awareness."[8] In contrast, Chuck Foster of Film Threat barbs, "what could have been the next Tiny Furniture gets so wrapped up in its own narcissism that it falls flat with a dull thud".[9]

Eye for Film's Jennie Kermode praised the film as "a powerful piece of work, as darkly hilarious as it is bleak."[10]

Music

Clark originally worked with a composer on an original score for Newly Single, but in the editing process decided to score the film entirely with archival music, largely unreleased American jazz music from the 1950s.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Parfitt, Orlando (October 17, 2017). "Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival completes 2017 competition line-up". Screen Daily. Screen International.
  2. 1 2 Boyce, Laurence (October 27, 2017). "Newly Single World Premiere". PÖFF Official Selection.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Adam Christian Clark on Breaking Away from Running Around in Circles with "Newly Single"". December 13, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Newly Single World Premiere". PÖFF 21. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  5. ↑ "Gravitas Ventures to Release Adam Christian Clark's Relationship Drama NEWLY SINGLE". Vimooz. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  6. ↑ "NEWLY SINGLE (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. ↑ Tsai, Martin (4 January 2019). "'Newly Single' Review: A Breakup Leaves a Director Directionless". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Aldam, Rob (10 February 2019). "FILM REVIEW: NEWLY SINGLE". Backseat Mafia. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Foster, Chuck (4 February 2019). "'Newly Single' Review". Film Threat. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  10. ↑ Kermode, Jennie (2 December 2018). "Newly Single". Film Threat. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Interview: Adam Christian Clark on Breaking Away from Running Around in Circles with "Newly Single"". December 13, 2018.
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