First, Last and Deposit (2000) User Reviews

Worth it for the acting alone

[mercurytest · 8/10 · 14 November 2003]

I discovered this movie 3 years after it's release on a local college station at 1 in the morning. Actually, it was the same night I write this as I was that impressed. At first, I really wasn't sure if I was watching a documentary or a scripted film, and I've seen enough movies and enough "mockumentaries" to tell the difference, but this movie was so realistic and so incredibly well-acted, it was hard to tell. 99% of the cast is excellent, and that includes many young actors who were so far advanced in their talents and so natural, I felt like a fly on the wall as a viewer.

A movie like this certainly has it's flaws, but with it's shoe-string budget, absence of a crew, and non-professional actors, it can be easily forgiven.

The film also introduces Jessica White, who gives possibly the best performance by a child actor I've ever seen. Even in awkward moments in the movie where the dialogue isn't so sharp or the scene not so smooth, she makes it work. It would be a travesty and injustice if she doesn't get work from this movie. This is an actor who needs to be discovered because she could be great.

I look forward to seeing more by the promising director Peter Hyoguchi. He has the potential to become one of the next good young directors. And if there's any justice in the world, Jessica White will be a star.

First, Last and Deposit for guerrilla Indie Filmmakers a MUST SEE!

[BreaknThruFilms · 9/10 · 1 March 2005]

First, Last and Deposit was recommended by a fellow indie filmmaker, who recommended it on the fact that it is the essence of guerrilla indie film-making at its best. It allows for natural sound, not studio sound and supports a good plot line and strong story. There was really only one place where I would have preferred the sound cleaned up. Overall it was fresh as a strong film made on a shoe string budget. It is simple in its core. It has clean images, not pretending to be hot cinema photography NOT wanting to be something it's not. It lends itself to the indie film it is making. Highly recommended for guerrilla filmmakers who want to strive for something, of true INDIE indie spirit. Good acting. Just overall a must see for the true indie filmmaker. But this proves that not just anyone can take a camera and make a good film, stand it next to some of the other shoe string budget guerrilla indies out there, this is a stand out!

grapes of wraith for the millennium

[destroyallmonsters_2000 · 9/10 · 10 June 2000]

This is a well acted indie drama about the trial and tribulations of a homeless mother and daughter living in california. the film is shot hand held DV, documentary style, giving the film a very real edge. I liked this film because of its often untouched subject matter, its very rare you see a film from hollywood about an unfortunate part of the population usualy looked down upon by by the privileged,

A Fresh Approach to Movie Making

[ken2000 · 21 March 2002]

This little film plays like a documentary, about a single mom and her adolescent daughter in Santa Barbara. Theirs is a gypsy life going from eviction to living in their car. A tough life and not one to be desired. I understand the guy who made it did it all on a computer. You won't mistake this for Titantic, but the in your face realism makes this a diamond in the rough and leaves you wondering about the fate of this desperate mom and her touching little girl.

Giving it 10 out of 10 because...

[MaverScare · 10/10 · 11 March 2007]

I'm an action fan. I love high impact kicks punches and explosions. This movie had none of that and kept me enthralled with a great story and great acting. The film was shot on a 1 chip DV camera (I'm very familiar with DV shooting) and came off like you were watching some weird soap opera or reality show about a woman becoming homeless.

The acting was top notch. And what about that slimy ass landlord. I wanted to stomp a mud hole in his ass! It's one thing to watch good guys versus bad but I think when acting on the screen makes you want to take action it's good acting.

-M

"The cool thing about acting is that you get to be someone else."

[damienbarrett · 10/10 · 20 September 2000]

Simply one of the most amazing films I've seen in quite awhile. It's a gritty, honest, and exceptionally frank look at a single mother and her teenage daughter who struggle with homelessness, hard knocks, and life. If you're tired of Hollywood painting pictures of perfect people on the screen in unrealisitic and unbelievable situations, then you should see this movie. Some of the scenes and dialogue from this movie are going to haunt me for quite awhile.

Raggedy Indie

[=G= · 2/10 · 17 January 2003]

"First, Last, and Deposit" is a shabby, shoe-string, bottom of the barrel indie which tells of a mom and her teenaged daughter who fall on hard times, get evicted, ripped off, etc. Save the fact that Wilcox and White work well together and White's star may be on the rise, this flick is so bad in everything from story through execution it simply isn't recommendable. Viewers looking for a film about a displaced mom and daughter should pass on "FLD" and watch "Tumbleweeds" or "Anywhere But Here". (F+)

Note - Even the title of this flick sucked. It should have been "XXX OOO".

Thought Provoking

[stacey_lee22 · 8/10 · 22 March 2002]

I thought this movie was very realistic in the showing the way of how some people may have ended up on the street. The movie had the appeal of a documentary which I thought I was great and I almost forgot that these were characters and not actors. I recommend every one to see this movie and then maybe the will think twice before making distasteful comments on the homeless. This was an emotional provoking film where I felt sad, hopeful and angry as I watched this movie unfold. To the writers kudos for making such an hones film that depicts one of our own casualties of society.

Interesting and compelling story

[jbtrader23 · 8/10 · 18 January 2001]

I was just flipping through the channels tonight and saw this on the independent film channel. It looked like a documentary and gave you a sense of being right there in the story. Seeing more movies in this style, with this type of feel would be great.

(WARNING, SPOILERS) Overall, it was compelling and one could not help but feel for the family as they were evicted from their apartment and as their car and all their possessions were stolen. It certainly presents homelessness as more than just someone begging, with a sign in their hands "will work for food". But there were some holes in the script. For example, Tessa in the motel slits her wrist with a razorblade, but it is then never explored anymore. Wouldn't her mom see it? When she ran away from her mom to go to sleep at a friends house, she ended up sneaking out of the house, when they thought she was still in the guestroom. Wouldn't you be worried if a girl just ran away like that? And at the end, the landlord bails out the mother, so it's as if she still owes him something. But it never tells why he did that.

If you like documentaries, this is a good one to see. I also looked up the director, Peter Hyoguchi. I thought his story was very inspiring. Taking the screenplay from his own life, shooting a super low budget movie with a handheld camera, no crew, or following conventional rules, and his movie was accepted at many film festivals and ended up on a cable movie channel. Awesome!

The dark side of the American Dream

[therealshell · 22 June 2001]

This shot-on-digital-video film, that I saw on the IFC's DV Theater the other night, is hugely impressive, with some exceptional acting from a cast of actors that I had never heard of before.

The story, about a single mother & her teenage daughter, and their struggles with being homeless, has been done before, and the film is similar to the Hollywood *blockbuster* "Anywhere But Here" in many ways, but Jessica White & Sara Wilcox, as "Tessa" and her Mom "Christine" offer up performances that are so real and immediate (the fact that this is shot on video gives the film a chillingly real & voyeuristic feel) that any memory of the "Hollywood" version is wiped out right away.

Jessica White, in particular, is very effective as "Tessa" the young girl who really can't imagine why her world is being turned upside down, and why her Mom is "ruining" everything for her, as she enters her trying teenage years, with all of the angst that they bring.

Peter Hyoguchi, the writer/director, who was himself raised by his mother in Santa Barbara, the affluent city where the film was shot, is to be commended for not being afraid to show how the American Dream can become a nightmare for people in an instant, and how easy it is to become homeless, even in a rich area like Santa Barbara.

"First, Last and Deposit" has been featured at many film festivals, but I expect that it will air on IFC again, and I highly recommend it.

It's heartbreakingly, achingly real, and a true work of art.

Finally A Real Film

[wedisney · 17 January 2001]

It's good to see that there are still "real" film makers left in Hollywood. This movie uses a hand-held documentary style of film making that makes you really feel for the characters. Every aspect is real. The hardships of a single mother and her daughter trying to live really hits home. It reveals to us that the trivial problems we face everyday are just that, trivial!

An honest and brilliant depiction of desperation and homelessness..

[tjackson · 17 January 2001]

I don't know how many people will ever get a chance to see this movie as it is shot in mini DV, but they ought to try to find it. I saw it on IFC on their digital series. If these early days of the 2000's are going to find a new aesthetic for the look and feel of video then this smart film ought to be considered something of a classic. The look and use of video make the subject of a young girl and her mother who find themselves homeless in affluent Santa Barbara, California immediate and moving. It's not just the use of the video either. The director, Peter Hyoguchi, makes canny choices as to what we see, how shots are framed, when the camera seems more present, or when it is more voyeuristic. The effect of being with the lives of these two is made tangible and beyond mere storytelling. It is heartbreaking and truly changes the viewer's perspective on situations of homelessness and desperation, family, love, and struggle. As the mother and daughter Jessica White and Sara Wilcox are perfect for the video feel with performances that are brilliant and honest. I was amazed these two fine actresses are not better known. This is heartfelt film and I think a minor classic in a unique and growing genre.