Like Colly, the construction worker and aspiring playwright played by writer/director Colin Broderick, Emerald City is the kind of unassuming movie that simply gets the job done—until its secret poetry and wisdom hit you with an indelible wallop. Rooted firmly in New York’s blue-collar Irish community, this touching and often funny drama follows four spiritually stagnant carpenters and their squirrelly boss who, unbeknownst to them, is behind in payments to the mob. Broderick deluges his characters with booze and bad relationships while, for the most part, avoiding clichéd or melancholic ends for them. His dialogue and his cast’s natural chemistry suggest a rich history that we aren’t privy to, but which feels no less real than if this were a sequel to some decades-old indie darling. A beautiful third-act development turns the construction metaphor on its head, cementing Emerald City as one of the year’s most thoughtful and soulful films.
Welcome to Kicking the Seat!
Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).
The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.
Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.