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BALLAST Send This Review to a Friend
Showcased at the 2008 New Directors/New Films series presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, “Ballast” is a first feature that is pretty much of a downer as writer/producer/director/editor Lance Hammer presents a documentary-style account of a family struggle in a Mississippi Delta town against poverty and hopelessness and the ever-present potential of violence.
The story focuses on Marlee, a single mom having trouble making ends meet and looking after her son, James, who at 12 has to learn to fend for himself.
The opportunity for trouble is never far away, and James succumbs to doing an occasional drug drop. The situation becomes increasingly perilous, and as we follow developments one is drawn into the relentlessly bleak world. Tarra Riggs is effective as Marlee, JimMyron Ross is convincing as James, and Micheal J. Smith, Sr. is good in his important role as Lawrence, a key factor in James’s life.
“Ballast” gains from its sincerity and modest style, and from its depressing look at the realities that its characters face. An Alluvial Film Company release.
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