THE LAST STRAW, Written and Directed by Stolis Hadjicharalambous, is an ingenious coming of age story that revolves around Bruce Bauer, a mild-mannered high school teenager, and his quest for love.
Bruce, (Henry Borriello) finally realizes the girl he is in love with – has mutual feelings. Shortly after they profess their love for each other outside her locker – they make plans for a first date. Enter the new Dean of Discipline – Wolfgang Quint (Jerry Murdock) – who is on a mission to get chaos out – and order back in – to the school. He targets Bruce’s love by unjustly expelling her for a minor infraction. Bruce goes from depression, to a light bulb idea, that bands together a motley crew of accomplices in a rebellion plan against Quint.
THE LAST STRAW takes the audience on an action packed ride of story, visuals, acting and music. This film’s witty angle is “operation LAST STRAW”. It keeps the story in line with the youthfulness of the high school years while expanding, creatively, on this simplistic idea. The spitball/straw takes on new heights with the additions of some amazing artillery made by the high school art department. These students plan to rain chaos and disorder throughout the school – in order to drive Quint out.
Borriello is the heart of the film. He carries the story line with his genuine performance. Murdock is brilliant as Wolfgang Quint. He explores an insanity to his character that is masterfully relayed through his eyes. Swanson (Christopher J. Otis) and Murphy (Zack Locuson) are spot on as the two side kicks. An amazing ensemble cast creates an edge of your seat confrontation scene between the students and Quint. The slow motion of the scene adds to the heightened climax.
The music/score is the pulse of the film. (Todd Maki). Brilliant cinematography (Dominick Sivilli) creates the captivating visuals – including the use of angles and close-ups.
No matter what your age, the uniqueness to this tale will have you cheering all the way to the end!