Trail of Crumbs

Robert McAtee – 2008 – USA

Low-key independent film by director/co-writer Robert McAtee, who also stars and wrote the music.  Calvin (McAtee) is a 30-something guy prompted to reminisce, via flashbacks, about his various relationship issues, in particular with a young woman named Wendy (co-writer/producer Molly Leland) who is really into dolls and anxious to retrieve one that’s missing.  It seems it was sold to Calvin’s late grandmother, so Wendy poses as a friend and hooks up with Calvin to locate and lay claim to her belongings.  McAtee has a sleepy, unctuous David Duchovny-type thing going on that works well for his character’s apathetic nature.  While on its surface the film is about the quirky women in Calvin’s past and how they represent his lack of control over his own life, it is also clearly a reflection on the lazy narcissism of many men that allows them to coast through life, career and relationships on little more than their dull charm and vague amiability.  This is borne out in the opening scene in which a woman, distraught over her own romantic crisis, confides in Calvin, and instead of listening to her, he proceeds to talk all about himself.  An effective character-driven drama with an engaging streak of humor, Trail of Crumbs is well worth seeking out; (it appears to be exclusively available on iTunes at present.)