Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore) stars in her first grown-up, leading role as Kate, the object of the titular Preston’s affections. It’s a valiant effort, and indicates that she’s a star in the making, and it would serve her well to delve deeper into these kinds of films, as opposed to the likes of Sorority Row and The House Bunny, in which she first cut her teeth.
Preston and Kate meet on the night of their college graduation. After spending a brief amount of time getting to know each other, Kate asks Preston to driver her home to Florida. Having had no adventures throughout his college years and with no other commitments, Preston accepts, with the promise of free accommodation in Kate’s parents’ hotel. Once ‘home’, the couple’s relationship develops and Preston meets Kate’s family – and unknowingly discovers a dark secret that could threaten the one thing he has begun to treasure.
The Diary of Preston Plummer is an independent film that was ten years in the making. Writer-director Sean Ackerman had only made one feature film prior to this and it was clearly a labour of love, much like the narrative of the film itself. Preston and Kate are both quiet and withdrawn characters who have never been in love before, but before they can fall in love with each other, they both have issues from the past that they need to deal with.
The film’s trailer doesn’t really give much away in terms of what the film is really about. Short, sharp editing reveals a police station, a gun and an argument, but the filmmakers seem keen to leave viewers in the lurch as to what to expect – is it a drama? A romance? A thriller? Where the film struggles is when it tries to blend these genres together. Its finest moments are when it picks one area to explore but then the audience is quickly jolted back into another take on the story. The blossoming relationship between the leads is cute and believable, if you can get past the initial meeting and him driving her back home – bit random, no? It’s also easy to lose yourself in the alllure of the locations as it’s beautifully shot, almost like the opening of Blue Velvet, where evil lurks beneath what at first appears to be perfect.
The Diary of Preston Plummer is worth seeing for the strength of the performances alone, but be warned that the narrative can seem quite jarring.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8I-RCdJgwM&w=560&h=315]
Thank you for the review! We appreciate you watching the film and your thoughtful comments. All the best – Jane Kelly Kosek & Sean Ackerman, filmmakers behind The Diary of Preston Plummer