Not having had any previous exposure to Twelve Monkeys Dancing's three-film library, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Writer/director Eileen Agosta contacted Movie-Popcorn out of the blue about a possible review of their new film, and I jumped at the chance to get a sneak preview. Needless to say, I'm happy I did, and I was pleasantly surprised at almost every turn.

Shades of Tarantino are evident in Different Kinds, intentional or not, and they're used so effectively that you'd almost think he took his inspiration from them instead of the other way around. All ends of the moral spectrum are represented in the cast of characters, perhaps a bit too neatly: Natalie, the clear-cut heroine, Kate, the innocent bystander; Jared, the morally ambiguous anti-hero, and Sal, the out-and-out villain. Also Quentin-esque is the film's adept use of flashback and temporal hopscotch, which keeps the audience on a constant edge, never taking its eyes off the screen for fear of missing a buried detail. Likewise, the slick editing makes you forget you're not watching a high-profile studio film.

What's going to set Different Kinds apart, though, is that it assumes a certain level of intelligence on the part of the audience, something big-budget studio films are notorious for not doing. As the story begins to take shape and the characters' pasts are gradually brought to the forefront, it's clear that Agosta has no intentions of spoon-feeding you anything; she patently refuses to pander or talk down to the viewer and offers up very few low-budget moments as she squeezes your psyche into submission with a gritty, rainy-day plot punctuated by a minimalist score.

It isn't flawless; some of the actors are quite a bit more polished than others, of course, and I was occasionally puzzled by some of the characters' reactions to one another, especially given the situation. There are also isolated examples of dialogue that might have been reconsidered, one of them a laugh-out-loud moment that will certainly qualify as the understatement of a lifetime. However, these are minor issues in comparison to what Agosta and the cast have accomplished here, and I for one will definitely be keeping an eye out for Twelve Monkeys Dancing Films' future contributions.

A best actress nod simply must go to Gina DiTullio as the nearly unflappable Sal. DiTullio's frighteningly level, steely performance is as consistent as it is convincing, her onscreen presence at once sexy and imposing. So engrossed in the role was she that one wonders where the actor ends and the character begins, a sure sign of a professional.

Also of Note