Tribeca Film Fest 2022 
Joseph Chambers sets out into the woods to go hunting for the first time dead set on proving his manliness. It is obvious from the outset that this isn’t going to go well. Joseph (Clayne Crawford) clearly has no business handling the gun he’s borrowed let alone the manly truck he’s borrowed, but Chambers’ little manhood walkabout will definitely test his mettle—just not in the way he was expecting. An interesting sort of rumination on masculinity. Worth checking out. Could have used more Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jordana Brewster (and her bare ass). 

2022 Ranked

Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 2
1. Jordana Brewster and Michael Rooker in F9
2. Michael Rooker and Kevin Bacon in J.F.K.

Watched at NBFF '22

Conceptually promising, but unfortunately failed to stick the landing on multiple occasions. The film felt uneven at times and unnatural in its depiction of its natural setting. The sound design was particularly awkward (and at times excessive) throughout, which added to the feelings of inauthenticity in its presentation of a natural surrounding, and of the unevenness exhibited throughout the film.

The concept behind this film at the very least peaks some interest, but ultimately it doesn’t have much to say. It would have been better served being presented as a tightly structured short film, rather than a feature. I am curious what such a film would have looked like though, had it’s story and concepts been approached by a writer/director who would have embraced a more character-driven, even quirky interpretation of the film’s subject matter and protagonist — perhaps incorporating dark comedy. My biggest curiosity: Yorgos Lanthimos’s take on The Integrity of Joseph Chambers. 

Atmospheric; cold; dark; effective; humorous; short; simple; tense; thought-provoking; unhurried; well-acted; well-crafted; well-scored.

Robert Machoian’s follow up to ‘The Killing of Two Lovers’ is an interesting film with a great lead performance from Clayne Crawford. A man desperate to prove his worth goes out on a solo hunting expedition in the forests. Trouble is, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

It’s a comment on self doubt, masculinity, patriarchal structures and eagerness to fit in to a community / family as an outsider. The film has a lot of subtext, which is difficult not to spoil but it evoked memories of ‘Take Shelter’ in it’s existential tone. Well worth seeing and also has some great eerie sound design.

even more sparse and bleak than The Killing of Two Lovers, with both films feeling like a bonded pair of defiantly American survivalist tales, punctuated by bursts of violence and featuring leads with respectable facial hair; thoroughly my kind of thing but also exhausting so ymmv

Robert Machoian’s THE INTEGRITY OF JOSEPH CHAMBERS is just as grippingly intense as THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS & re-affirms he’s a filmmaker of tremendous talent. Clayne Crawford’s hauntingly naked performance is powerful & unforgettable while the intricate sound design rattles your nerves. Carefully composed to draw out as much dread as humanly possible.

So this dude goes out in the woods and it’s clear that he probably shouldn’t be going wandering around with a gun by himself and of course something terrible happens … leading up to that though is a lot of wandering around in the woods not much is happening, which is kind of laborious to watch and then even once the stuff happens it’s mostly meh.. nothing too groundbreaking here.. very simple too simple

Men will literally grow out their mustaches and go hunting instead of go to therapy

An agonizing portrayal of a hunting outing gone horribly wrong