MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS

MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS was first reviewed on this site a while back, where we spoke favourably of it long before it had been picked up for distribution. So it's great to now report that this troubling indie flick has received a special edition DVD release in the US from those fine folk at Wild Eye.

A clan of kids gather on the early evening of 21st October 2009 during the opening titles of AMATEUR PORN STAR KILLER director Shane Ryan's film.

Then we're taken back to 11 days earlier, where this disturbing tale of true crime really begins.

We find two girls in their early teens, Alyssa (Katie Marsh) and her pal (Demi Baumann) bickering obscenely while playing with a shopping trolley. They capture most of their frivolous arguments almost unwittingly on their mobile 'phone video cameras, during this day and then six days later. Whether discussing sexual possibilities with lads at school, cutting each other with knives or encouraging Alyssa's younger sibling Joseph (Joseph Marsh) to engage in a game of touching an electric fence, these girls are as bored as they are removed from reality.

In-between their admittedly engrossing, realistic exchanges, we get footage of a painfully skinny young woman referred to as The Angst (Alex Damiano) who likes to shower vigorously and contain her bulimia by storing her vomit in little jars. The cause of her hardship? Her abusive father.

This is something she seems to have in common with another character we're sporadically implored to identify with, known only in the credits as The Performer (Teona Dolniova). She frequently tells her camera phone, in-between bouts of self-harming, of her aspirations to be a pop star (complete with black-and-white pop video sang in Russian). But, again, it appears she may be getting abused at home...

The film follows these apparently disparate characters in a dizzyingly, somewhat non-linear format as we witness their wild abandon and acts of random churlishness - nothing too heavy, just the usual disenfranchised teenager stuff - until all of these separate strands come together and they perform an act together that, by that time, begs further rationalising beyond instant demonization.

Although a little baffling for outsiders - there's no exposition; names are rarely announced onscreen; we're just thrown into footage of various unexplained characters going about their business - there's no denying that ANONYMOUS is accomplished in terms of its slick, sharp editing and brightly shot visuals.

The handheld camerawork is a familiar trait of Ryan's, but at the very least here its raw immediacy is justified in terms of the candid build-up of events which attempts to get under the skin of several disenchanted characters. It is a jarring affect, admittedly, but the cumulative result of all of the early, disjointed and video diary-type vignettes is undeniably powerful.

"I don't even know if I exist at this point" one character moans while contemplating suicide. This is the type of grim stance that is to be witnessed casually throughout. Ryan's talent is that he gets such naturalistic performances from his young cast that, coupled with the cinema verite style of capturing them and the canny use of them filming almost all thoughts on mobile 'phones (thus allowing them to speak to the screen without necessarily breaking the fourth wall), none if it is too overbearing or portentous.

Indeed, Ryan's developed a style that is disconcertingly in touch with the disaffection of youth which is equal to Larry Clark's (KIDS; KEN PARK). A mournful score, led mostly by a solo guitar, aids the sombre tone of the film. If you want the nihilism of modern youth, then look no further: Ryan has nailed it, depressingly so.

In keeping with the Clark comparison, Ryan's cast are troublesomely young. They look to be the ages that their characters are. Which makes scenes where they chat nonchalantly about blowjobs, rim jobs, self-mutilation and so much more pretty shocking. Furthermore, I have to say this cast is uniformly excellent: the level of naturalism achieved from them is nothing short of startling.

I mentioned earlier in the review that this film is based on a true crime: the murder of a 9-year-old girl. So, clearly, all events are leading to a downbeat conclusion. But, also, this retelling of a recent event - you can find the details, harrowing though they are, online if you so desire - makes ANONYMOUS a little unsavoury into the bargain.

However. I trust Ryan's objectives on this occasion. There is an intelligence about his bare portrayal of each character; their candid and prolonged exposure suggests he's all about the psychology and less about the sensationalism. This, to me, is Ryan's coming of age. It's an assured, accomplished piece of work by him.

ANONYMOUS is disturbing, yes. It can also boast astounding performances from its young cast and a candid camera approach of the most beneficial style. Stick with it, as disjointed as it may initially seem; it might be harrowing - thoroughly depressing even, perhaps - but MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS is also oddly equally rewarding.

Wild Eye Releasing's DVD is region free and presents the film uncut, in its original 16x9 widescreen ratio. Colours are true, blacks are solid and detail is fine throughout. It's a solid transfer proposition.

English 2.0 audio does its job well, offering an evenly channelled balance of clean dialogue and crisp music cues.

The disc opens to a static main menu page. There is no scene selection menu (there are 9 chapters but these can only be navigated to by pressing 'chapter skip' on your handset).

Extra features commence with "The Columbine Effect", which is a feature-length alternate edit of the film. This runs just shy of 20 minutes and re-edits key scenes from the main feature into a different sequence, incorporating all the footage of self-harming, bulimia, self-loathing and scathing dialogue alongside sorrowful music to ensure it's just as haunting as its longer variant.

I HATE ME, MYSELF AND US is another alternate version of the film. This time clocking in at 57 minutes in length and credited as being directed by "Alyssa", it again re-edits footage this time to present events from a different perspective. It's a clever move from Ryan, and once again retains the harrowing ambience. As good as these alternate offerings are, I fear watching three versions of ANONYMOUS may just provide the most depressing evening's viewing ... ever!

A 2-minute deleted scene gives The Performer a little more screen time; an alternate post-murder scene runs for 3 minutes and is given a distressed 'grindhouse' look to it which is in breach of the rest of the film's aesthetics.

We even get a 3-minute 'alternate music scene', exampling how different score cues were considered for key scenes. The music's all throat-slittingly sad, of course.

Next up is the main feature's arty 3-minute trailer, boasting a host of superlatives from various online review quotes.

We also get trailers for some other Wild Eye releases, including ABDUCTED GIRL: AN AMERICAN SEX SLAVE, PORTRAIT OF A MILK CARTON GIRL, THE OWL IN ECHO PARK, FINAL ENTRIES, THE TURNPIKE KILLER and BLOOD SOAKED.

MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS doesn't get any easier to handle: it's a bloody grim, joyless experience. But it's also very well made and proof positive that Ryan is becoming a filmmaker of some power, even if his ongoing fascination with casting very young people in harrowing predicaments is discomfiting.

If you think you can stomach it, the best way to see MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS is undoubtedly via this DVD from Wild Eye Releasing.

By Stuart Willis