Customer Reviews

Tenderloin

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was lucky enough to chance upon this gem at the Mill Valley Film Festival...it was thoughtful and funny, gorgeously shot, and impeccably cast. Tenderloin makes human a very real and often ignored part of San Francisco. It allowed me to linger and know a place that I usually rush past. Thank you to those of you who made it!

I had also seen this film at the Mill Valley Film Festival and had been struck by its narrative truth and power. I was wondering when it would get distributuion and am delighted that it has! If you are in the mood for a bit of All-American neorealism with effortlessly naturalistic performances, this film is for you! It's gritty, has a wonderful documentary feel, and will stay with you long after the last image.

I'm a fan of Neorealism and the French New Wave, and would rather watch a gutsy low budget film with heart, even if it has some flaws, than a big budget production where expensive technology and star power are the film's focus. Not that I can't enjoy the latter, just the former is my preference, so that's the angle this review is from.

The Tenderloin neighborhood in SF can be a tough, gritty environment, but also can be a place where humor, grace and the best of people can be see in response to all that. I say this having done a fair bit of photojournalism on the streets there, including late night work shooting photos at a hole in the wall drag bar in the neighborhood. I found the look, story and attitude of this film right on in capturing the spirit of the place and people, so if you are curious about what can be learned about America and the human condition in the flophouse hotels of bohemian San Francisco, this film is well worth a look. This film is low budget, and so has its awkward moments technically and otherwise, but what's left is fun, smart, sexy, heartfelt and grounded in ways that I enjoyed very much and that have stayed with me. The literary roots of this type of Neorealism in film are more Dickensian morality tale than Zolaesque naturalism, so the tragicomic nature of the tale may at times seem a bit melodramatic to some, but personally I took that as part of the package and also not far from many of the characters' ways of seeing the world and living it.

The filmmakers did a great job with a tiny budget, and there was a mix of experienced folks with newcomers in the credits which suggests that the film may also turn out to be a project that launches more than one talent to the next level. The lead actors impressed, and the support actors in the "character roles" were really a treat. The soundtrack is awesome. Wish it was out on CD, or even as an MP3 download -- how about it, guys?

This film is like the joking, mischievous drag queen sister of Rob Nilsson's darker, more wry films about the Tenderloin, but I believe there is a place for both visions in the overall documentation of the neighborhood and the larger adventure of human life.

.... before going any further, that as a screenwriter I am drawn to gritty, low-budget indies featuring virtually unknown writers, directors, producers and actors. And if the final product offers a dose of noir, all the better. So Tenderloin was my kind flick. I bought the DVD and placed it in my small but growing permanent collection, from where I will offer it up to young screenwriters and aspiring film makers who wish to see what can be produced with a few thousand bucks and a lot of sweat equity.

This is a brilliant and inspiring little film.

I too saw the film at film festival and have since rewatched it on DVD. Although there are some problems with the script including places with clunky dialog, the direction, acting and score were very good. Given the limitations of budget and location - Tenderloin is an ultra low budget independent film shot on video (the Director revealed a surprisingly limited budget at a Q&A) with a cast of mostly local theater actors (not hollywood stars) shot in the Tenderloin district of SF - it truly is a well-made film.

The film has a tremendous amount of heart and some great performances. The central character is an Iraq war vet dealing with physical and emotional turmoil (PTSD?) as well as anger issues that have alienated him from his wife and young son. He takes a job as a building manager in The Tenderloin thinking it a way for him to lay low and hide from the world. Google The Tenderloin and you will learn that it is an impoverished area within an otherwise very gentrified and expensive city plagued by crime, exploitation and drug addition. Despite, or perhaps because of the hardship in the neighborhood, the humanity of his neighbors moves him toward an emotional recovery that allows him to begin to reconnect with his estranged family and his new friends. The film is ultimately about profound existential anguish versus human connection without being overly dark or sentimental about the subject.

Saw Tenderloin opening night in Mill Valley. While in line we were standing in front of a very proud gentleman who had a bit part in the film. He was one of many interesting non-actors from the Tenderloin that have bit parts in the film. Most of us, if we are honest, would probably never meet these folks in our real life but I was so glad I met them in "reel life. " They are people struggling through a difficult life and are living in a Tenderloin apartment building. They bond together and remind us that families come in many different forms and are really just people that through happenstance and the many difficulties life has thrown in their path, are there for each other and become a family . I did not expect to be so taken in by these people and to pull for them and want life to work for them, a definite surprise and well worth seeing. I recommend it!

If you shy away from odd people and odd relationships, this is not the movie for you. If you have an open mind and want to watch an interesting, low-budget film that has a pretty good script, you'll like this movie a lot.

The characters live in an apartment building run by a slumlord. Some are a little odd, but they all seem to have a good heart. The main character is trying to get his life together and he has some issues to work out. He gets a job living & working in the building.

Despite the name and the featured image, this is not a movie for kids.

Speechless I Am. A love story intertwined with what I consider, a real look at life in this much maligned part of San Francisco. We don't see many brutal drug dealers, but we see a brutal strip club manager and a ruthless hotel owner (?) who both take advantage of the main character in the film; a loving divorced father who's son visits him in his new digs, a lowly T.L. hotel. I felt for these poor people in the film who often skip from one seedy hotel to another, often straddled with alcoholism. Having seen this part of town first hand, I can attest to its realism.

I was lucky enough to see 'Tenderloin' during the Mill Valley Film Festival. It is an insider's look at this sometimes dangerous - always interesting - part of San Francisco. Some scenes may not be for the faint of heart but that's what movies are for right? Enjoy.

After reading the other reviews, all raving about how great this film is, I decided to purchase and see for myself. I rarely take the time to write reviews, but I am just so irritated with the fact that I was duped into watching this ridiculous film. I kept watching the movie thinking to myself that at some point something would happen that would make sense of it all. If I had to describe it, I would sum it up as "a recently separated father moves into a slum apartment building as the property manager and then we get to see why his life sucks as he hooks up with crack heads and hangs out with drug addicts." The movie ending was what really sent me over the edge. I really wish I could get my money back and more importantly, the past hour and a half of my life. Low budget (no budget), actor's were good, but the story was just poor.