The Diary of Preston Plummer

I'm still wondering how a movie that is seemingly small in scope, with a slow measured cadence could have been so exciting. Not exciting in the traditional blockbuster way, but with a tension filled plot that defies your assumptions of what will happen next, right up until the end. The acting is well done and the characters grow on you. As the movie progresses their welfare drives your interest in the plot.

See this on the large screen if you can, to fully experience the feeling of solitude throughout the movie, in the landscape, the individuals and the relationships. With" less money than most movies spend on food", Sean Ackerman has made a film with as much value as anything you might see this season.

I was very pleased and impressed by this movie - made on a shoestring budget, it had all the elements that so many "major" movies lack: a good story line, strong filmography, unexpectedly solid acting. I would strongly recommend this. The backstory on the movie's writer, director and producer is almost as interesting -- he's currently a resident physician completing his training in child psychiatry in Burlington, Vermont. One can see why he was attracted to psychiatry, or perhaps it was his training in that discipline that allowed him to explore the nuances of relationships so well in this movie. I am hoping he continues his creative career even as he practices his profession.

Excellent story - genuine characters; the somewhat gritty film and sound quality is totally understandable considering that the movie was created for about the price of a Tesla electric sports car. The writer, director, producer showed up after the opening in his scrubs fresh from his day job as an MD in the Burlington Vermont Hospital. Great guy - you want to take him home and make dinner for him.

We had read a very negative review of the movie that almost scared us away. There is a sincerity about the script and acting that is rare in the typical, slick Hollywood productions. See the movie, tell your friends!

Preston Plummer (Trevor Morgan) is graduating from university with the feeling of never really having loved anything. At a party he meets a girl who wants him to drive her home. Not just college home, but home, home – in another state. She needs to go home and he needs an adventure which he never got to experience. "The Diary of Preston Plummer" is about the long journey home — physically, emotionally and spiritually.

It's a large scope story told in a small way with some of the best writing I could ever imagine. Kate (the girl) doesn't understand the universe because of her family's troubled past and she doesn't know how to make things just work out. Preston does understand the universe, in a physics scholar kind of way. He studies entropy and although he doesn't understand what has happened in Kate's past, he wants to use his dark and dismal explanation of the expansion of the universe and actually help her. As he falls in love with her, he finds a non-genius, personal way of helping her.

The reasons this is such a great film is because it's not nearly as obtuse as my previous paragraph might make it out to be. The plot can be explained any number of ways. It's a romantic drama where both boy and girl need to overcome their troubled past to fully love themselves and each other. The film is also told as a simple mystery. As has been greatly hinted to, something is not quite right with Kate's family. Preston takes it upon himself to figure out what they think occurred and what actually occurred. That certainly is interesting in and of itself, but I was riveted from the very beginning based on the character of Preston Plummer alone.

He's a genius, but he doesn't see himself as one. He was lonely in school but doesn't realize that he was until he starts discovering what love is. His childhood wasn't perfect, but he doesn't let that define him. I connected with him as soon as his many characteristics were revealed, I fell in love with him, and I wanted to go on this "adventure" with him. I use the term "adventure" loosely since this is not how Hollywood defines it. It's a slowly engrossing, lonely journey to a simple love story.

Trevor Morgan as Preston Plummer was perfect. He's a realistic kind of character, but completely lovable, endearing and sympathetic from the start. I wasn't as sold on Kate, she was sort of this mystery person to me, but that also could have just been jealousy. The romance element was enveloping; more realistic and down-to-Earth than any romantic dramas I have seen. But it's not just a romantic drama, it's a heartfelt character study, a mysterious journey, and an explanation of the Universe's tendency to make life fall apart. "The Diary of Preston Plummer" is nearing perfection.

I have to be honest here. This was a bad film. The story line had potential, but the delivery failed miserably. The movie starts out in which Preston, a recent college graduate, meets Kate. She is the typical damsel in distress at a party who can't even so much as get to the bathroom on her own without Preston's help. It gets worse. He even carries her to the car from an extremely minor wound to her upper thigh. Talk about stereotypical gender roles- boring.

The supposed "connection" they share was nowhere to be found throughout the entire film. I was never once able to lose myself in the characters or their personal exchanges of "emotion," which were unbearably awkward, unbelievable, and corny. This is supposed to be a movie about the human relationship of love but their relationship consists of a few scenes of them taking a short walk or making out on a beach- cheesy. These are not REAL dimensions of human love. Let's get to the weird unexplainable stuff; the mental and emotional exchanges nobody else can see.

Preston is supposedly a genius physicist, yet that aspect of his personality is sadly never even developed in the film. Kate's character is extremely dull and the only thing we learn about her is that her hands never stop shaking.

There were several attempts to line the story up with some deep philosophical insights about the universe regarding creation and destruction which I found to be profoundly UNdeep. Yawn. The director of this film seems to force feed the "deep meaning behind the film" to the audience which makes the film lose all potential for depth.

Last but not least, the plot was completely predictable. I was able to figure out the supposed family secret and how it would all play out within the first 20mins of the film.

Overall, this movie felt like a mystery novel written for a preteen audience.