Film: Feed
Future Screenings: None

Festival goers notes of the day: If you're the sort of movie goer who can't conceive of seeing a movie without popcorn, be warned that the Cinema at Penn does not have a working concession stand.

Noting Jim's comment about the festival curators' reluctance to discuss the details of Feed at the pre-festival talks because it was "likely to make people sick," I sent my fellow Phillyist an email which amounted to "Feed is SO on my list." It's an inherent flaw in my personality (and a distinct disappointment to anyone who hoped I'd grow up to be demure and feminine) that I have a hard time turning down any film that promises a good gross-out. Yet during the postmovie Q & A, one movie-goer shocked Travis Crawford by saying he didn't think the film was all that disgusting. I'm inclined to agree.

I feel the festival curators did Feed a disservice billing it as "a gross-out film to end them all." Without question there are things in Feed that will make almost anyone uncomfortable - however, much of that discomfort has to do more with ideology than physicality. Feed raises questions about power, beauty, body image, body ownership, self-worth, the things which satiate us emotionally, those that fulfill us physically, the power of social pressures and the nature of love. People may be disgusted byFeed because it may confront them with issues and ideas that are completely foreign to their own, and others because the taboos it toys with might be guiltily familiar; and still others because there are things in life having to do with bodily fluids that are just plain gross, no matter who and how you love.

Feed is a cop vs. criminal thriller set against the backdrop of the Feeder/Gainer sub-culture (I won't go into too many details about that here, except that in this symbiotic relationship, the Feeder feeds the Gainer, and the Gainer gains. It's more complex than that, of course, and if the movie is to be believed, there's unlimited information about this practice available on the Internet. However, I suggest that you refrain from researching it at work). Phillip (Jack Thompson), an Aussie cyber cop with an inferiority complex and a desire to nab the bad guys IRL rather than on IRC, discovers the Feeder/Gainer subculture and is convinced there are darker forces at work. His investigation leads him to a wealthy, well-spoken, web-savvy American entrepreneur (Alex O'Loughlin) who runs a Feeder fetish site.

The two men square off in the traditional criminal mastermind vs. detective tradition, sparring both mentally, physically, psychologically and verbally. Each is the other's moral, ethical and emotional foil...but the distinction isn't black and white. Much like when reading Lolita, you'll be amazed at how often you find yourself sympathizing with, believing, or even rooting for the "bad" guy. (I use this term loosely, as in the movie the idea of who is "bad" and "good" is very fluidly defined. In this case, I rely on the movie-logic standby that the villain is usually the character with all the best lines. And in Feed, he has some doozies.)

Feed is far from the schlock-fest I envisioned it would be. However, as a black comedy (sometimes the blackest of black) there is a certain amount of camp to the script, the cinematography, and occasionally, the performances. Even still, it manages to reign itself in enough to create some moments of pure tension, which allows it to be a successful thriller.

Certainly, Feed is not for everyone, but I would recommend it to anyone with a twisted sense of humor, an openmind and a strong sense of self. And, as the festival recommends, a strong stomach certainly helps. My festival rating: Very good (yes, that is my highest rating so far; and no one is as surprised as me).

As an added note, big props to producer Melissa Beauford and actorAlex O'Loughlin for bringing cupcakes to the post-film Q&A. I didn't have any - I just appreciated the irony. In the end, I rather wish I had partaken, though. When I got home, I found myself strangely hungry.

Image via the DIY Walk of Fame at Boutell.com