Brooklyn 45 (2023)

July 5, 2023 1:13 PM

[TRAILER] On a freezing evening in December 1945, five military veterans (Anne Ramsay, Ezra Buzzington, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ron E. Rains) gather together in the ornate parlor of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they have reunited to support their troubled host – but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.

Also starring Kristina Klebe, Lucy Carapetyan.

Written & directed by Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here).

89% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now playing on Shudder. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (6 comments total)

This feel a bit stagey, in its one location, actorly acting, writerly writing kind of way. But it worked for me.

The ending could have hit a bit harder, but it works out to be a good watch. A lot of "Oh, hey! It's whatstheirname!" character actors doing fine work.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:14 PM on July 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

"Ron E. Rains?" He almost certainly was born with some wild Jewish name.
posted by rhizome at 12:53 AM on July 6, 2023

That trailer looks great, DirtyOldTown, thanks for the pointer. Added it to the list for the next time I re-up Shudder.
posted by mediareport at 9:01 AM on July 6, 2023

Also, should have mentioned: the film takes place in real time.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:14 AM on July 6, 2023

This had been on my watchlist for a while, thanks for the nudge!

I'm somewhat frustrated with the ending because I was very much enjoying the setup and characters and was expecting a few more revelations and a point beyond "war is hell".
posted by slimepuppy at 12:48 PM on July 12, 2023

Yeah, I liked it while watching but ultimately it didn't do a whole lot with its neat premise. Took too long to get to anything scary (suicidal guy doesn't start talking until ~70 min into a 90 min flick, e.g.) and there was no real exploration of the supernatural elements. It's a decent little 1940s period drama about What War Does To Us All (the queer guy and how that was handled was well-done) but I was hoping for more. I'd love to see a more horrific version of this one.
posted by mediareport at 5:14 AM on August 1, 2023