Every young person faces a crossroads in his life. They must choose between a comfortable life without going anywhere or making something special of themselves. In director Luke Covert's feature film, Turbo Cola, a young man goes to great lengths to secure a better future after graduating from high school.
Every young person faces a crossroads in his life. They must choose between a comfortable life without going anywhere or making something special of themselves. In director Luke Covert's feature film, Turbo Cola, a young man goes to great lengths to secure a better future after graduating from high school.
Written by Covert, Samantha Oty and Matthew Kiskis and based on Oty's play New Year's Eve at the Stop N Go, the film is set on December 31, 1999, just before the world is about to implode from the Y2K viruses. Austin (Nicholas Stoesser) has finally found a way out of his puny life in the middle of Nowhere, America. He works at a Quality Mart gas station and convenience store. He discovered that the ATM next to one of the refrigerators has a hole, and he can easily slip his hand in and steal the cash.
Stars: Brooke Maroon, James Andrew O'Connor
Along with this friend, Swearsky (Jared Spears), the plan is for Austin to take the New Year's Eve shift and, throughout the night, slowly steal the cash and throw it into a Turbo Cola giveaway display to fool the cameras. of security. If it works, no one will know that the money has been missing for days and no one will be caught. It's the perfect crime!
But simple deception schemes are rarely like this in the movies, and Turbo Cola is no different. As Austin desperately tries to find a moment alone to raise the money, he is interrupted by a cop who needs coffee or his friends are constantly passing by to drag him to the Y2K party in the "Fallout Shelter" for one last celebration right before the world. ends
Turbo Cola isn't so much about the heist as it is about Austin confronting the elements of his life that are holding him back. So, for a moment, let's gloss over his biggest obstacle: the money he needs to follow his girlfriend, Mary Jane (Jordyn Denning), to New York University. The people in his life who keep him from really growing up, like his best friend Jimmy (Landon Tavernier), who wants Austin to share an apartment with him after high school, and a mother who can't seem to leave him. to an abusive husband.
I mentioned that this is an adaptation of a play, but it rarely feels like one. Covert brilliantly transports the action of the set to the claustrophobic confines of a convenience store. Every step and conversation feels authentic, mainly because the filmmaker spreads the action out over one night instead of being one continuous sequence like a stage play. What should be a quiet night shift at a convenience store just doesn't happen. The director balances the main story's tension between the heist and almost getting caught with the stress of Austin's relationships with friends and family. His mom chooses the safety of a bad relationship, while Jimmy fears being alone and Mary Jane questions getting involved in a long-distance relationship. Austin's plans are now in jeopardy.
The cast is equally exceptional, with most of them just starting out in the game. Stoesser takes the story and nails it. The supporting cast, from top to bottom, perfectly captures each character. Turbo Cola is a pretty awesome standalone movie. A huge chunk of credit has to go to director Luke Covert for the near-flawless execution of an indie drama. The final film feels effortless, and Covert has a big future ahead of him.