“No Postage Necessary” offers moviegoers a feel-good respite from all the goofball teen comedies, horror-slasher flicks, and CG-packed action films filling multiplex auditoriums this summer. A high-tech indie with blockchain-powered distribution, writer/director Jeremy Culver’s little gem was shot entirely on film. The result is a cleverly crafted, surprisingly elegant work that unites heart with humor.
Sam (George Blagden) is the film’s male lead, a talented computer hacker who just served a felony stretch to expose corporate corruption. Now on probation and working for minimum wage at the local Twistee Treat, Sam uses his wit and moxie to try and land a high tech gig. But his probation officer (Michael Beach) reminds him that he can’t go near the Internet or any device connected to it. As if that weren’t enough, FBI investigator (Stelio Savante) constantly dogs Sam about a missing bitcoin cache.
To help make ends meet, Sam poses as a postal carrier, raiding mailboxes and stealing money out of personal letters. One day, he encounters a letter addressed to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from Josie (Charleene Closshey), a war-widow. The ache and pain of Josie’s heartfelt prose draw Sam into her life. He follows her shopping, to her work at Winn-Dixie, even to pick up her daughter from elementary school. If only he could be the better man she lost, worthy of such pure love. So their courtship, based on a lie, begins. Josie takes a liking to his brash, boyish charm. Of course, we can read the tea leaves of this star-crossed coupling when she tells him, “I loved my husband because, among other things, he was completely honest.”
“No Postage Necessary” fully exploits Closshey’s talents. She evokes a vulnerability and emotional poignancy that’s never forced, always measured in response to what she faces at the moment. We feel the pain of her loss, of dealing with a troubled daughter, of confronting the emptiness in her life—often with just a look or a movement’s pause. And, most importantly, the subtle ways she retains self-control, of not letting life’s brutal card get to her, of forging on. Eventually, Sam is able to see all this and he becomes inexorably drawn in. And unlike Hollywood’s penchant to bed couples on their first date, Culver knows this isn’t a film you want to complicate with sex.
Simple and unpretentious, “No Postage Necessary” moves us through a delicate balance of romance and redemption loosely couched in a high-tech crime caper. Fellow hacker Stanley (Robbie Kay) reminds us of Sam’s roots, and subtly, of a way out as he quotes from his Bible. Sweet Michelle Moreno is endearing as Josie’s troubled young daughter. Beach is the tough-love probation officer with a heart, who sees the potential in Sam’s reluctant con-man façade. And Raymond J. Barry plays Josie’s father without burying himself in the role. His Jack gives Sam the room to turn his life around while trying to convince his daughter to let go and live her life. And kudos to the versatile Blagden. His chameleon-like ability to move in and out of Sam’s emotional notes–from wrong-choice loser to hero–is fascinating to watch. Clearly, Blagden’s unpretentious range is the counterweight that precisely balances Closshey’s nuanced performance.
The direction and camerawork serve this film well. The stark, bright imagery of officer and priest as they approach Josie’s doorstep soundlessly captures that crushing blow every military wife dreads. The store-neon close-ups highlight Josie’s struggle to keep up appearances. And the darkening lighting as Sam reveals more and more of his past works well to underscore Closshey’s bitter disappointment and Sam’s agonizing regret. All work to wring out every bit of emotion this tender film offers.
The film’s ending is satisfying without artifice, without the romance novel denouement we often see in more contrived films of this genre. Some problems are resolved. Characters are believably reshaped as only real life can shape them. And new horizons are presented but with paths yet to be explored.
See the trailer.
