Identity Crisis, New York (State) Style

A Review of
Empire Tales - "4th of Summer" and "Chance Encounter"


By Clarence L. Donowitz

4th of Summer

    “Utica” and “film” are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. Nevertheless, on the weekend of January 15, this visually striking city in central New York State was the venue for the world premiere of  the independent film Empire Tales.    The film consists of two independent stories which are tied together by locale: New York State, or "The Empire State". Driving west on a snowswept I-90, my driver often had to slow to a crawl in order to navigate through the whiteout. It was as good a preparation for the screening as any.
    In the first film, "4th of Summer" navigating through an unknown territory becomes a matter of life and death. Traveling tie salesman Bob Rozycki nearly runs over a drifter while piloting his van over desolate, rural back roads.  Helpful to a fault, Rozycki offers the drifter a ride, "at least to the next town". The salesman is the kind of backslapping extrovert who, when paired with someone as taciturn as the nomadic Ben James, begs for comic release, but despite some very amusing lines, this film is not a comedy. 
    At the point where the on-screen action risks coming too close to a metaphysical analogy and burning itself up in the didactic flame (the kind that has engulfed so many independent films), the radio thrusts us back into the moment.  A too-chipper announcer informs us that a serial killer is loose in the area, that he has been confirmed traveling through New York State, and that he is likely in the very area our duo is traversing.  It seems then, that the game is finding out which one of the travelers may be the killer. Yet, the film's aim is not to satisfy any slasher conventions (fun as they may be), but to dig down through mired layers of conversation to the bedrock of character.
    I will not reveal who the killer is, not because it would ruin the film, but because strangely it matters not in the least bit.  Writer-director D.B. Toth is more interested in the "why" than in the "who".  If there is a murderer loose who kills indiscriminately, that is indeed scary.  But much more frightening is the killer who assumes the identities of his victims and is thus able to consistently stay a step ahead of the law.
    The ever-shifting identity of the killer is the saving grace of this film.  For who among us has not fantasized about sidestepping problems by assuming the identity of another?  In my case I would welcome one where the new clothes I wore were a couple of sizes smaller -- but that's another story.  A character who switches identities exists outside of time, for consequences of actions assume a linearity, which he is then able to transcend and discard with every metamorphosis.
    The 2004 film, "Taking Lives", explored similar territory but I venture to guess that the Hollywood film spent more on catering for one day than "4th of Summer"'s entire budget including post-production.  No matter.  Technically, the film belies its independent roots from time to time, but never in a way that detracts from the story.  The film harkens back to an earlier time when the glue that held a film together was the screenplay -- not the director's heavy hand.  For that, it is to be commended.   What makes the anachronistic character Bob Rozycki so plausible is the superior acting work of Doug Rossi, a consummate Shakespearean actor who plays the character with appropriate bravado.  John Kalpin, as Ben James, holds his own against the onslaught of overbearing personality that is Bob Rozycki, though one wishes his delivery was conveyed in a more even-keeled manner. 
    The overused cliche of the "setting being a character in a story" is true here.  In the desolate countryside, we see no other people.  The two characters are literally encapsulated in a van -- a steel cage of cold comfort that is more of a testing ground than en escape from the elements.