Entrance (2012), directed by Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath is an interesting and extremely minimalistic indie film. In fact, the movie is only 84 minutes long, and hardly anything happens the first hour.
Entrance is about the quietly unfulfilling life of a single young woman (Suziey Block) in Los Angeles. She lives in the trendy Silverlake neighborhood, has a roommate and must walk to her job at a coffee house when her car breaks down.
It’s difficult to say too much about the plot without giving away crucial details. Suffice it to say that the film is effective about building a very gradual sense of foreboding. This builds to a climax that turns it into a more traditional type of genre film and in this sense it was a bit of a disappointment.
I have a higher than average tolerance for very slow moving films that focus on mood, character and atmosphere. Yet Entrance still tested my patience as it crept along at a snail’s pace for the first hour. I think the payoff could have been handled with a little more originality, as what emerged was a rather cliched villain whose type can be found in thousands of low budget films and TV shows.
Still, I admire the way the directors were willing to take their time and emphasize the everyday life of the characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if their next film is more impressive overall.