Static

1985's STATIC is an undeservedly obscure movie that is just begging for rediscovery.  This is despite its co-writer/director Mark Romanek, who "wishes it would go away."  He all but denies its existence, stating that his debut was actually 2002's ONE HOUR PHOTO.  Harsh, Mark.  Puzzling, too.  Not many first timers create such a thoughtful, memorable film.   Possibly one of the most endearing character studies of the '80s.

I was always enticed by the synopsis:  a young man invents a monitor that he claims shows live images of Heaven.  That place where the afterlife occurs.   As with many films, I first learned about it from Leonard Maltin's annual almanac.  Finding this movie was an exercise in futility for many years.  I never caught it on cable, and I did not see availability on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, DVD, DVD HD, Blu-Ray, PAL, or any other format.  Then one afternoon as I perused the On Demand offerings of Xfinity I saw the title and grabbed it, uncertain if another opportunity would ever arise.  I figured the video and audio quality would be poor (it was), but in this case I was so eager to finally watch the movie I wasn't concerned.

For the next hour and a half I was entirely engrossed, completely fascinated with a film that played much differently than I would've imagined.  This was good and bad, but mostly good.  Reviewers had always described STATIC as "weird", "eccentric", "odd", and while I would agree to some extent I found the film better summarized as "piquant" and "bittersweet".  Quite sad, too. Nowhere nearly as strange or way out as expected.  I was prepared for the movie to more fully exploit the idea of this unusual invention, toiled over for two years by a young man named Ernie Blick (Keith Gordon) following the tragic death of his parents in an automobile accident.  Maybe some sci-fi-ish moments.  We only see the device twice: on Christmas Eve when Ernie unveils it to his friends, and at the end, when a character peers into it one last time.

You might imagine several opportunities for theologiocal muses with this central idea.  The script (co-written by Gordon) also has Ernie being fired from a crucifix factory (for stealing the deformed ones,  which he places on his wall at home) and that his cousin Frank (Bob Gunton) is a wacky street evangelist, the sort  who yells "Jeee-zus" to unfortunate passersby as if the name was a weapon.  STATIC does fill its colorful,  creatively composed frames (Romanek would go on to direct rock videos for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, R.E.M., and many others) with visual ideas and motifs that will intrigue those who hunt for Christian imagery in their art.

For me, STATIC (a title with multiple meanings) works best as a study of small town life, of those who've found themselves unable to leave.  People like Ernie's friend Patty (Lily Knight) who's been a waitress as long as she can remember, unsure as to why life has turned out the way it did.  She's envious of Julia (Amanda Plummer, as a normal character!), another old friend of Ernie's who's found success in a New Wave band and come back into town for a visit, but opens up to her in a nice scene in a diner.  We also meet Frank's wife and twin boys, martyrs to their father's obsessiveness of a coming nuclear (and biblical) holocaust.  Ernie himself is stuck in both an emotional and geographic stalemate, and Gordon plays him quite well.  The script observes everyone sharply, but with a certain degree of warmth and even respect.  I wanted more time with these characters.  I feel they vanished before I really got to know them.

The final half hour does take a left turn into more satiric directions, and while I never found it overcooked, I was a bit displeased.  It made me wonder what Romanek and Gordon were really trying to say with their movie.   Then there's a finale I can't imagine anyone would've seen coming.  I found it an affront to many of the film's themes, but upon reflection I guess it made sense.  .