Marla (Anne Ramsay), and Bob Sheridan (Ron E. Rains) stand at the steps of Lt. Col. Clive Hockstatter’s (Larry Fessenden) Brooklyn brownstone at the beginning of the new film BROOKLYN 45. World War two is over and the world is recovering in a twinkling December of Christmas lights and simplicity. The Sheridans are attending an intimate get together at Lt. Col. Hockstatter’s home that includes old friends Mjr. Archibald Stanton (Jeremy Holm) and Mjr. Paul DiFranco (Ezra Buzzington). But what was supposed to be a liquor-tinged night of remenising becomes a hair-raising night of reveleations. Writer, director Ted Geoghegan serves up a structurally sound ensemble ghost story that is perpetually perplexing and consistently entertaining if perhaps a bit contained.

As Marla and Bob enter the home of Hockstatter’s home, the find Mjrs. Stanton and DiFranco sipping booze and sparring over the past. Melancholy Hockstatter has lost a wife and is in a bit of a state as he whistfully gazes at pictures of better times. All of his guests sense something is up, and it isn’t until their host suggests a seance for his dead wife that they have an idea of what’s wrong. BROOKLYN 45 takes some wonderfully strange turns in its narrative that keeps the audience engaged and guessing.

BROOKLYN 45 entertains with twists and turns between 5 friends that have been through hell with each other while tossing in enough diviersions but it’s getting at something more in the ghosts that live in each of us. This isn’t heavy drama but it is dead serious and wicked fun. Geoghegan does well to populate his intimate story with actors who really carry the film with their talent and chemeistry. Ramsay‘s Marla is a retired femme fatale whose powers have been forced into dormancy with the onset of married life. Rains‘s Bob is a pencil pusher out of his league amidst Marla’s peers who have actually seen combat. Holm and Buzzington have an almost homoerotic rivalry as two very different officers that have survived the Nazi’s. Still it’s Fessenden that stands out as a morose and tortured veteran.

While the performances are all great across the board, they are supported by craft work that is remarkably solid. Robert Patrick Stern keeps things vibrant and colorful, eschewing the initial reflex to make the past look like the past. Instead, the aspect ratio becomes wide at key moments and the colors pop with life. Sarah Sharp’s spirited production design paints the vista with kelly green walls and deep tones of gold, red, and brown. Too the set feels simeltaneoulsy vintage, lived in, and current.

The biggest take away here is the commensurate talent of writer director Geoghegan who continues to impress with his calculated understanding of story and execution. A story that could have felt claustrophobic is instead handled with a mix shots that indicate the scope of any given scene. Geoghegan also guides a showcase of interesting performances from criminally underused actors. Finally Geoghegan knows how to craft a big story on a tight budget and it shows.

BROOKLYN 45 isn’t what you might expect but it’s an entertaining 90+ minutes of character development, intrigue, and a splash of horror.

7 Out of 10