Ballast

2007. USA. Directed by Lance Hammer. A man's suicide irrevocably alters the already fraught relationship of three people in a rural Mississippi Delta township. First-time director Lance Hammer sensitively traces the innumerable ways one radical act affects life's larger issues and daily details for those left behind. Nonprofessionals all, the three main actors' nuanced performances accentuate the tentative ties that uneasily bind together a solitary bachelor, his brother's embittered ex-girlfriend and her troubled twelve-year-old son. The slow-burn trajectory of this story gradually unfolds, anchored in psychological truth and the authenticity of locale. Improvising scenes with his actors, Hammer makes his debut with a strong emotional impact. His is a distinct and courageous new voice in American cinema. An IFC First Take release. 96 min.