Wuss

A Very Personalized Films production in colaboration with Minor in Possession and Femmewerks Prods. Produced by Eric Steele, Barak Epstein, Adam Donaghey. Executive producer, Bala Shagrithaya. Directed, put together by Clay Liford.With: Nate Rudin, Alicia Anthony, Ryan Anderson, Chris Gardner, Cody Manley, Tony Hale, Alex Karpovsky, Sylvia Luedtke, Jennifer Sipes, Tamara Fana, Ashley Oliver, Johnny Mars.By frequently upending anticipation and shifting tones, author-director Clay Liford keeps his audience really intrigued and anxious throughout "Wuss," an remarkably crafted drama laced with darkly comic humor. After several stops over the fest circuit -- plus a showcase at Los Angeles' AFI Film Festival, where it won an audience award -- this offbeat indie, of a mousy secondary school teacher who's brutalized by delinquent students and mocked by most grownups within the orbit, has the capacity to graduate to limited theatrical release. But it'll require a knowledgeable distrib in a position to shouldering a difficult marketing challenge. In the get-go, Liford signifies Mitch Parker (Nate Rudin), a short, slight fellow within the mid-20s, as someone who likely experienced a nonstop barrage of bullying throughout his adolescent years. Sadly, since the opening sequence at his high-school reunion rapidly determines, things haven't changed much for Mitch years after graduation: He's still within the same school, living conscious of his less-than-affectionate mother (Sylvia Luedtke) plus much more-than-threatening sister (Jennifer Sipes), and being struggling with students and staffers alike, even though he's now an British teacher. Mitch is actually psychologically beaten-lower it has come about as little surprise he doesn't hurry to get hold of government physiques when he's assaulted having a student who not respond well to discipline. Jamal (Ryan Anderson) is actually an irredeemable brute, even their very own mother (Ashley Oliver, inside an attention-getting single-scene performance) thinks Mitch should drop anything at all on him after he attacks the brand new teacher. Yet it's not until he'll acquire some encouragement from Maddie (Alicia Anthony), among his best students, that Mitch begins to plot revenge. "Wuss" is very amusing within the broadly comical moments, specifically when Mitch joins extended-time pals (including some fellow teachers) for spirited Dungeons & Dragons games. Indie stalwart Alex Karpovsky ("Beeswax," "Small Furniture") can get some laughs becoming an strongly condescending vice principal who loves disturbing Mitch. Despite the fact that Johnny Mars is a lot more than adequately menacing as Maddie's older brother, who just is undoubtedly a gun-runner, he's all of a sudden amusing when he unveils his avocation just like a rare-books dealer. Beneath the funny business, however, an acceptable volume of serious suspense percolates throughout "Wuss." As Mitch, Rudin affectingly plays a put-upon character whose humiliation and desperation helps to keep the pic compelling. And newcomer Anthony beguilingly fires up various areas of a complicated, even contradictory character -- sometimes tearfully vulnerable, sometimes brazenly poised. The bond between Mitch and Maddie calculates being the existence bloodstream of "Wuss," triggering an ambiguous yet satisfying finale. Shot around Garland, a midsize Texas city near Dallas, "Wuss" boasts fine production values, climax likely some pop tunes round the soundtrack may be transformed just before the pic's theatrical release.Camera (color), Christopher Simpson editor, Jay Serra music, Curtis Heath production designer, Yen Tan art director, Ellen Weaver costume designer, Andie Day appear, Codi Putman connect producer, Farah White-colored assistant director, Angie Meyer casting, Eric Steele. Examined on DVD, Houston, November. 12, 2011. (In AFI, SXSW film festivals.) Running time: 96 MIN. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com