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Perhaps not religious persecution so much as cultural and racial, but one flavour of hate is pretty much the same as the next. And it's the backdrop for Fassbender's home-grown story of identity and redemption, opening today for a four-night run at the Metro Cinema.
Bobby (David McNally) is a quiet and intense young man who makes up part of a right-wing resistance movement based in the United States. His father was killed in the line of duty years earlier, an act which only added more fuel to Bobby's seething fire.
After proving his merit to his hate-driven group by planting a small bomb in a federal building along with cohorts Frank (Mark Gibbon) and Kevin (Chris Fassbender), Bobby is dispatched to Toronto to deal with the group's weasely money launderer, the sleazy but not necessarily evil embezzler Teddy (Ken Brown).
Tipped off to Bobby's mission, Teddy flees Toronto for quiet, sedate Edmonton, where he hides out with his ex-wife Carol (Maralyn Ryan) at the movie's titular address. Back in Toronto, Bobby meets up with Teddy's daughter Laura (Kate Ryan), and uses her to help track the running man out west.
What he doesn't bargain for are the feelings that develop between himself and the beautiful Laura, leading to a tense and drama-packed conclusion at the film's end.
It's a lot to stuff into 90 minutes of movie, and Fassbender does his level best to disguise the fact he's working with the sort of minuscule budget that would likely equal the amount spent on craft services for the average Hollywood flick. Every dime is up there on the screen, as are countless hours of free labour donated to the project by the people involved.
He mostly succeeds, though initially it's tough to piece together exactly what location a scene is taking place in, at least until we figure out who the players are, where they live and what their relationships are to each other. On the flip side, you wouldn't expect to see pyrotechnics, stunning aerial photography or the calibre of performances delivered by McNally and Kate Ryan in a tiny indie flick like this, yet there they are.
In fact, the McNally-Ryan chemistry proves so substantial, it leaves you wishing their relationship could have blossomed earlier in the film.
1132 Pleasant Street probably shouldn't be held up to the same expectations audiences would have going into a $50-million Hollywood film. It would be fascinating to see what Fassbender could do with a real budget, after watching him wring this tale from desperately limited resources.
And more importantly perhaps than even the entertainment value of the movie itself is its testament to the strength of Edmonton's locally grown talent. It should serve to inspire and motivate other filmmakers in this city.
(This film is rated 14A)