Iowa (2005)

Director:

Matt Farnsworth

Writer:

Matt Farnsworth (writer)

Release Date:

2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

They don't just grow corn here anymore.

Plot:

A cautionary tale of love, crime, fantasy and addiction that follows two young Iowan lovers who decide to go into the "batch" business - cooking their own methamphetamine - only to watch it burn a searing hole in their lives. |

Cast

Matt Farnsworth	...	Esper Harte
Diane Foster	...	Donna Huffman
Mickey Jones	...	Darrell McNeely
John Tracy	...	Leo Harte
John Savage	...	Irv Huffman
Muse Watson	...	Sheriff Walker
Jack Orend	...	Mortician
John Bliss	...	Pastor Krause
Rosanna Arquette	...	Effie Harte
Michael T. Weiss	...	Larry Clarkson
James Serpento	...	Gesture Man
Stephen Whitney	...	Tweeker
Rocky Marquette	...	Cousin Jake
Golden Farnsworth	...	Silly Milly
Karen McFall	...	Aunt Fonda

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Filming Locations:

Centerville, Iowa, USA

Company:

Full Fathom 5

Just saw Iowa at Tribeca Film Festival

As a New York City based editor and onceuponatime native of SE Iowa (about 15 miles from where this film was shot) I knew I had to see this film. I had not heard of it but was very pleasantly surprised.

Farnsworth pulled off the trifecta here of writing, directing, and acting and he did a pretty good job at all three. He's obviously a competent filmmaker. The cast did a pretty good job - I was a little disappointed to hear a "southern" accent too often. The main female lead really grew on me. At first I thought she was a little too Hollywood and too good looking but I really bought into her character.

The editing was done well. At times it was a little too "showy" when simple cuts could have told the story better. But the story kept moving forward and there were never any of those slow moments when you wish you could hit fast forward.

I expected a little more juxtaposition showing idyllic rural Iowa life and the effect that the meth problem has had on a lot of small Midwestern towns. Meth is a big big problem and it affects a lot of people who have nothing to do with meth. This movie mainly focuses on a small group of characters who deal meth, take meth, or are related to meth users.

All in all, it was very well done. Kind of reminded me of Badlands. Maybe we could call this "Badlands One State Over" since Badlands was in Nebraska. It's definitely got some over-the-top violence but done well in the context of the film.

Farnsworth should be proud of himself. He did a great job here managing all 3 duties. The writing was tight, he plays the role real well, and he had some very interesting directing choices. I definitely recommend Iowa.