Actor-writer-director George Griffith is the triple-threat talent behind From the Head, an independent comedy-drama largely set in an unlikely venue: the men's room at a topless bar. Griffith plays Shoes, the affable attendant in a small bathroom that witnesses a constant parade of flawed humanity through its door. The clever script presents endless possibilities for brief, interesting encounters, while drawing out the conflicts deep inside Shoes' seemingly easygoing personality. The bar's patrons (including a few familiar faces, such as Matthew Lillard and Jon Polito) visit the facilities and speak to Shoes about their hopes, dreams, regrets, episodes of guilt, and the topless dancers whose attention they crave. Meanwhile, several of the club's dancers are forced to stop by the men's room when their own bathroom is in disrepair, and through them the viewer learns that Shoes has been on the job for many years—an abnormally long time for a young man who reads Samuel Beckett between handing paper towels to customers. Throughout, Griffith manages to find fresh visual angles inside a limited space while simultaneously delivering a warm, knowing, yet also enigmatic performance. Recommended. (T. Keogh)
From the Head
Breaking Glass, 93 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99, July 16 Volume 28, Issue 5
From the Head
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