Listening to Kaden's story, his fall from grace, and bitterness against the world (seemingly blind to his own willing participation), takes you on an emotional roller- coaster. However, it was still a very potent and emotional climax, and a payoff-if you can call it that-which works very, very well. I won't say I was surprised by the ending, as I wasn't. The more he drinks and smokes weed, the more delirious he becomes, and that leads us to the inevitable conclusion. It is clear, he trusts no one, and given his past, you can't blame him.
As the movie unfolds, you see Kaden become vulnerable, then building his walls back up. Still, it's a very short scene, and it is redeemed by Radford's performance. While it was nice to get out of the cramped dwelling Kaden is reduced to living in, it also seemed unnecessary and a bit overwrought. There's the clichéd shot of Kaden, face half hidden in shadow, as he talks about his youth and family, preceded by his reading a poem (which is from Wade Radford's most excellent poetry collection Tough Blows of A Sleepless Universe), which is then burned, and an endless shot of the paper burning. If there's anything I have a negative feeling about, it's a brief scene shot around a campfire. There is a couple of places where the style is broken, such as a drug and alcohol fueled scene where Kaden attempts to seduce the filmmaker, and at the very end, but it works well, and, the film feels cohesive. Impey's direction is perfect, and lets the camera act as a fly on the wall, being obtrusive only when necessary. Radford does such a wonderful job portraying the rakish, downtrodden Kaden (real name Quinn-so he says) that you can almost believe you are watching a documentary. You'll want to have your way with him, or smack him, and often at the same time. Yet, Radford lights up the screen, not just with his boyish looks and charm, but a wicked smile, and gleaming eyes. Filmed as a talking head type documentary, and shot entirely in one setting (with a brief campfire bit which doesn't quite work, but more on that later), Twink could have been a crashing bore. Twink shuns all of that, and shows two artists at work, creating and making statements on society without bashing you over the head. All too often indie movies are dragged down and made insufferable by bad acting, hackneyed writing, and directors who have a streak of self importance. Thus begins 68 minutes of Wade Radford giving an absolutely stunning performance. Living in a rundown (though rundown is being generous), room, with peeling wallpaper, and graffiti written across, the movie opens with a documentary filmmaker waking him up, because he's late to start their project.
Twink tells the story of Kaden, a former adult film actor, who abruptly left the business, and is on a downward slide. Filmed in a single day, with just a camera, an actor (well two, though one is an off screen voice), and improvised dialog, and made for almost nothing, Twink belies all the notions of what indie and low budget cinema can be. I was fortunate enough to see a screener of their newest collaboration Twink, and it's simply a stunning piece of work. With four films in a matter of two years, and their fifth just completed, Impey and Radford show no signs of slowing down. Not only are they leading the charge, they're also the architects of said resurgence. If there's a resurgence in guerilla style indie filmmaking, and I have every hope there is, I've found the leaders.