A Picture of You (2013) – Film Review

Director: J.P. Chan
Writer: J.P. Chan, Jo Mei
Cast: Jo Mei, Andrew Pang, Teyonah Parris, Lucas Dixon, Jodi Long
Runtime: 83 minutes

Indie productions are taking the film business by storm by offering interesting, beyond-the-box stories that really captivate audiences worldwide. A Picture of You, J.P. Chan’s feature film debut, has well-selected ingredients that make a well-crafted film, but does fall short in one key area.

A Picture of You follows Kyle (Andrew Pang) and Jen (Jo Mei), two estranged siblings, who travel from New York City to rural Pennsylvania to pack up the home of their recently deceased mother. Planning to only stay over the weekend, the two of them begin putting their mothers things away, only to make a discovery that shocks them beyond belief. Confusion, questions, and two additional visiting friends make their weekend trip a complicated one.

When you are first presented with the film, you get the sense that you are about to drop into the lives of two characters that are going to be put under the spotlight, showcasing their inner struggle, their method of dealing with loss, and the relationship they have between each other. Using a combination of narration, flashbacks and cool cinematography, Chan preps you with the opening scenes to experience all of this. However, as the film progresses, the genre itself shifts, starting to add comedic elements to the film. While some of the comedic elements developed the characters, during other moments you really didn’t see the point. In fact, the story should have gotten darker and darker, but kept bouncing back between emotional scenes and comedy.

The one element that was done right was the casting of the film. Keeping Chan’s intentions in mind, after seeing the flow of the story, the cast do a brilliant job of stepping into the shoes of their respective characters. Andrew Pang definitely created a brotherly-like figure, showcasing a rougher side to highlight his past and present responsibilities. Jo Mei really highlights the carefree sister and her estrangement from her brother. The intensity between the two siblings is toned-down a little bit with Teyonah Parris and Lucas Dixon who play two friends of Jen. They slow down the intensity a little bit, creating interactions that not only highlight them, but also let us understand Kyle and Jen a little bit better. Jodi Long was perfect to play the mother in the story, really becoming an important part of the film in the various cut-scenes that highlight her.

While casting, cinematography and the overall vibe of the film were good, one area of the film that really could have been worked on was the screenplay. The beginning and end of the film were well crafted, but the middle of the film was pretty broken. The “shocking discovery” and the way it was handled was very childish, and really, wasn’t a revelation in itself. Shocking, yes, but it wasn’t powerful enough to create a discovery that would completely change the way the characters behaved. From that moment on, the treatment of the discovery became just another activity, creating scenes that really weren’t crafted very well. The problem is that the film is jumping between genres, trying to mix comedy with drama when its not really necessary. The intensity and drama was creating a pace that really captured your attention, and if a more appropriate discovery was used, you would have ended up with a film that would have been a great character study.

Chan has created a film with the best of intentions, keeping things simple and really giving space for the characters to shine on screen. However, a not-very-well crafted screenplay left much to desire from. If certain techniques weren’t used and certain elements skipped, you would have a film that really highlighted the meaning of loss, and created a character study that audiences could really take away from. With that said, everyone experiences a film differently, so you may prefer the current offering more than I did.