MethodFest: Martin Landau stars in "Harrison Montgomery"

One of the most talked about movies at Method Fest in Calabasas, CA this week is  the new film Harrison Montgomery, starring and executive produced by Academy Award winner Martin Landau, making it's world premiere at the festival today.

Here's the synopsis from the Harrison Montgomery website:

In a run down apartment complex in San Francisco's poverty-stricken Tenderloin neighborhood, septuagenarian Harrison Montgomery is waiting for his final message. For decades, the eccentric recluse has chronicled the phrases of America's favorite game show and deciphered their hidden meaning - the details of a mission to save his fellow neighbors: Ricardo Papa, a small time drug dealer with artistic aspirations, who struggles to escape the world of crime, and Margo, a single mother trapped in an abusive relationship in the name of financial security and a stable home for her teenage daughter Lattie. It takes Harrison's magic, the revelation of his final purpose, and Lattie's kindness to free Ricardo and Margo, and restore karmic justice when it is needed most.

Billed as a "work-in-progress", Landau and company have crafted an interesting little film, and it should be interesting to see the kind of reaction that the live MethodFest crowd gives it.

Although Landau recieves top billing, he actually doesn't appear all that much - he is more a background character, a catalyst of sorts to the stories revolving in the building around him, particularly the story of drug dealer Ricardo and his desperation to pay off his supplier, and the relationship between Margo and her daugher Lattie.

Top notch performances from Octavio Gomes Berrios and Krista Ott, and a wonderful semi-cameo from Diane Baker are highlights of the film. Ott is particularly good, and engaging, and should have a great future ahead of her as she grows from a pre teen into a young starlet a la Dakota Fanning.

It should be interesting to see how the film does when it finds a distributor. Landau's considerable clout as one of the finest actors of our time should help this movie find an audience on the indie film circuit.