Steven Kanter and Henry Loevner, the two co-directors (who worked together on “The End of Us”, a COVID-based comedy), have come together for their sophomore feature “Peak Season.” Amy (Claudia Restrepo) and Max (Ben Coleman), an engaged couple, escape from New York City to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The towering mountains and huge landscapes make it feel like a perfect place to be in love but it is not the two getting married.
Max is an unresponsive self-absorbed workaholic. Though “Peak Season” implies that they are in love; there’s no other proof except their engagement rings. They mostly act towards each other formally, with Max sometimes dominating Amy’s speeches and emotions as he tries to put across his own ideas or interests. He dismisses many of her proposals for them to spend time together at best or even worse abandons her completely e.g., leaving her alone for yoga class when she expected that they would go hiking together. Consequently, when his job summons him back to the city during their trip, thus making her idle away alone.
Amy decides to stick with the schedule and go fly-fishing by herself where she meets Loren (Derrick Joseph DeBlasis). This man does everything from teaching fishing lessons to climbing rocks around town while working as a dishwasher in one of its local restaurants. Although this town has plenty of these types of jobs available in nature-oriented gig economy the same can’t be said about him who lives out of his SUV vehicle having improvised shower which he hangs up on a tree containing water from a canteen-like container. Since then they quickly become friends and start spending more time together until it becomes almost too much that might lead them away from their present happiness in life
The movie, “Peak Season”, explores the concepts of compromise in romantic relationships, among other things. It is a lovely film about love but it takes its sweet time to blur the lines between friendships and lovers; instead it develops them naturally over the course of the film. They are at a Western bar together after school and get to know each other. They laugh together at a rodeo. And realistically, they argue, aptly butting heads while trying to give Loren’s friend advice on the idea of settling down. Although this theme runs throughout the movie, it does so rather plainly, making us hyper aware of what “Peak Season” is trying to say.
Amy likes comfort best while Loren values passion and freedom more than anything else. This conversation is representative of the film’s dilemma: how should Amy feel about Max if she loves him? However, this love triangle juxtaposition lacks subtlety since Max is overtly evil whereas Loren has depth as a character. He has no redeeming qualities except his inherent good nature. He’s always selfish, patronizing and cheesy (not in an endearing way).
DeBlasis stole every scene he was in during this movie which gave him plenty of room to show off his acting talent on screen. While Coleman and Restrepo exist on opposite sides of that scale; they’re neither here nor there respectively. Unlike Coleman who can be felt with every decision she made step by step right from the first part up until now when we are approaching tail end wherein Restrepo would have some redemption offscreen.
“Peak Season” mainly comes across as adorable descriptions of how one ends up being stuck between cowardice and comfort.” The ending especially brings out some touching moments though much of the time observing this becomes boring as we fail to connect emotionally with any performances happening before us on screen.“Peak Season” feels like friends having fun making a movie; there are times when such closeness or simplicity of the project is appealing. But there are other times when it is not, because these moments break through the fourth wall to destroy immersion.
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