There are plenty of movies about road trips, self-discovery, and mental health, so to create something singular that stands the test of time and audience exposure is certainly a hard feat to achieve. Unfortunately, because there are so many movies on the topic, Nikki Mejia’s feature debut, A Place in the Field, focuses on the PTSD of veterans and the road trip that one soldier must go on to fulfil a promise he made to his best friend. First and foremost, to tell the tale of the near solo journey, the entire film relies on performance. With the performance being acceptable and admirable, it also, unfortunately, misses the mark to blow the audience away and create an atmosphere for an audience to get behind.
Don DiPetta as Giovanni Scuedri in A PLACE IN THE FIELD. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
The film focuses on Giovanni Scuedri (Don DiPetta) as he receives some disturbing but expected mail; a box containing his best friend’s ashes and a note. The note simply states that his best friend wants Gio to take his ashes and go on the road trip they always said they would go on. Throughout the journey, Gio is taken aback by the tribulations he is faced with, and the journey through self-discovery, and battling one’s inner demons. Switching between current day and his war days, Gio battles his PTSD as he goes on this road trip to fulfil his friends final wish and bring his ashes to their final resting place.
A Place in the Field borrows a lot of its themes and ideologies from other films that tackle the subject matter and, thus, the overall message and journey is most likely one that the audience has seen before. While the story has been told before, it is the performance from the leading man, Don DiPetta, which keeps the audience engaged throughout the film as a whole. He manages to be stoic but give off such emotion and hardship that the audience understands the pain and suffering he has gone through. The only part missing is the fact that the performance needed to be further drawn out to fully capture and engage with it. While DiPetta certainly tries his best with what he is given, the script that he co-wrote with Bluesmon Del Vecchio and Khorri Ellis focuses on the journey not travelled more than the journey travelled itself.
L-R: Khorri Ellis as Herbert Davis and Don DiPetta as Giovanni Scuedri in A PLACE IN THE FIELD. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Moreover, there is an unspoken star that shines bright in A Place in the Field , and that is Kadri Koop, the cinematographer. What she manages to capture and present is both haunting and beautiful as there are several moments in the film where no one is talking, and we are just engulfing scenery or flashbacks that say more than any specific dialogue could say. The movie is about PTSD, survivor’s guilt, and a journey to accomplish the promises we’ve agreed to. There is so much beauty in the unspoken moments that Koop captures with her gorgeous ability to capture the sheer beauty and horror that comes with war and the life that awaits one after they are discharged.
L-R: Khorri Ellis as Herbert Davis and Don DiPetta as Giovanni Scuedri in A PLACE IN THE FIELD. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Nikki Mejia chose this story of PTSD, guilt, and war for her first feature film, a daring choice that she navigates, carefully balancing the chaos of war and the life after war. While the direction is subtle, it fails to make the leap from subtle to outstanding, but the restricted and refined performance from Don DiPetta captures the audience, even if it can’t hold them for the duration. DiPetta competently demonstrates his character’s struggle with PTSD, without which the film would not work as a whole. His performance breathes some life into the feature, but more than DiPetta is necessary for the endurance the film needs. Lastly, A Place in the Field features some of the most beautiful cinematography of the year and boasts the current life of a returned soldier, dealing with the loss of his best friend and war itself. Through the combination of a road taken before with new scenery, A Place in the Field proves a strong directorial debut. With some more restraints and risks, Mejia would be a voice to follow in the future.
In select theaters November 10th, 2023.
Available on VOD and digital November 18th, 2023.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews, streaming
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