Ronald Bronstein

Frownland

Frownland

A nightmare transmission from the grungiest depths of the New York indie underground, the visceral, darkly funny, and totally sui generis debut feature from Ronald Bronstein is a dread-inducing vision of misfit alienation at its unhinged extreme. In a maniacal performance of almost frightening commitment, Dore Mann plays Keith, a disturbingly maladjusted social outcast and self-described “troll” whose neuroses plunge him into an unstoppable spiral of self-obliteration as his crummy coupon-selling job, pitiful living situation (featuring the roommate from hipster Brooklyn hell), and last remaining human relationships disintegrate around him. As captured in the grimy expressionist grain of Sean Price Williams’s claustrophobic camera work, Frownland is DIY cinema at its most fearless, uncompromising, and unforgettable.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 2007
  • 106 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.66:1
  • English
  • Spine #1137

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Ronald Bronstein, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Introduction by Bronstein
  • Conversation between Bronstein and filmmaker Josh Safdie
  • Deleted scenes
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Richard Brody and an oral history of the making of the film

    New illustration by Josh Safdie

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Ronald Bronstein, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Introduction by Bronstein
  • Conversation between Bronstein and filmmaker Josh Safdie
  • Deleted scenes
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Richard Brody and an oral history of the making of the film

    New illustration by Josh Safdie
Frownland
Cast
Dore Mann
Keith
Mary Wall
Laura
Carmine Marino
Carmine
Paul Grimstad
Charles
David Sandholm
Sandy
Marc Raybin
Test administrator
Paul Grant
Exam man
Credits
Director
Ronald Bronstein
Story by
Ronald Bronstein
Production
Marc Raybin
Camera
Sean Price Williams
Sound
David Sandholm
Grip
Ignacio Carballo
Music
Paul Grimstad
Editing
Ronald Bronstein

Current

Frownland: Down the Drain
Frownland: Down the Drain

With an obsessive attention to detail and tiny gestures, Ronald Bronstein’s debut feature film turns the tale of one neurotic Brooklyn man into a furious work of personal cinema.

By Richard Brody