Photo courtesy of Ragtag Cinema

The Color Wheel is a black and white dark comedy shot on 16mm film by Alex Ross Perry. The film recounts the story of siblings JR and Colin’s three-day road trip to Boston that explores the severity of how far their relationship has grown apart and the severity of its reconciliation. But no matter how brutally honest they are with their disdain for one another, they know they can count on each other when SHTF.

JR, played by Carlen Altman, is a broadcast journalism college dropout who wants to make it in the ‘big market’ without putting much effort into her career endeavor. Hers and Colin’s road trip is centered around her break up with her aloof, self-involved journalism professor Neil who leaves his promises of jobs to JR unfulfilled.

Colin, played by Perry, is JR’s younger brother. Their love for each other runs deep, but Colin isn’t shy about expressing his and his parent’s feelings about his older sister’s situation. However, he doesn’t have the most perfect life either: His long-time, live-in girlfriend and he have grown distant and is floating in a post-graduate daze working as a ‘focus group copywriter’ with hidden, dismissive ambitions of becoming a writer.

The cinematography was absolutely stunning, and it was surprisingly well-lit considering the small budget the film worked on. The reliance on natural and cheap lighting purchased from Lowe’s paired excellently with the grittiness of the physical tape, as the quality exuded a sense of timeless ’60s classic. The tone, combined with the choice of cinematography had the me leaving feeling caustic, cynical and a little relieved — I was not the only one to have mean humor with my siblings seeing how dysfunctional sibling relationships can be.

The special that was paired with the film’s setting in New England was Doc’s Draft Hard Cider. It was a bitter, dry apple cider that matched perfectly with Perry’s film that pushed levels of discomfort. However, the cider was pleasantly crisp and refreshing with hints of maple syrup. All The Color Wheel audience received $2 off Doc’s Cider by flashing the ticket stub.

All Homebrewed screenings are on Wednesday in June. Here are the rest of the films:

• Sun Don’t Shine Wed 6/13
• The Wise Kids Wed 6/20
• In the Family Wed 6/27