Tyrel

This type of meandering indie used to be called "mumblecore," thanks to its hallmarks: formless scenes without intention and general lack of story. Directed by Sebastián Silva -- of the highly praised The Maid (2009) -- Tyrel certainly fits the mumblecore profile. Perhaps it's meant to be a comment on race relations in America. If so, what that comment is, is anyone's guess. The characters' conversations aren't insightful; they're certainly not compelling. And the language isn't clever or funny. It's one of those movies in which rarely an exchange escapes without a sprinkling of "f--k"s. Not to be prudish about it, but when any word is repeated so much, it feels more like a vocal tic than a tool of expression. Plus, the handheld camera style is shaky and unsure to the point of inducing motion sickness. There are no actual conflicts, strong desires, or engaging relationships. There's no plot.

And then there's the matter of the title. The protagonist is named Tyler, though one character mistakenly calls him "Tyrel" on meeting him. So we can only speculate why that was chosen to name the film. If the inverted final syllable is meant to imply the character is internally twisted/turned around, the film doesn't really show us why that would be. Cera brings a brief flicker of energy to the proceedings, but Ann Dowd and Reg E. Cathey are wasted in cameos. At 86 minutes, Tyrel manages to feel much too long.