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This terrific 24-minute documentary from director Tom Goudsmit looks at three different men from Indiana, Kentucky and Maryland. Nothing really ties them together other that they are blue-collar guys who relish what they have in life even if it may seem humble to others. And they share a continuity of names: Donny, Mike and Don Mike.
Don Mike lives in a trailer in Kentucky, smoking and drinking and firing his .22 pistol to keep the squirrels away from his bird feeders. He is of indeterminate years. If you told me he was 55, I would believe you, and if you said he was 80, I wouldn't disagree with that, either. Don Mike's accent is so syrupy Goudsmit feels compelled to provide subtitles as his subject talks about his disdain for having a woman in his life, other than the occasional sleepover. His grandkids occasionally visit, and Don Mike's brother drops by to take him into town, but other than that he lives his life alone and seems to eager to get on with doing just that.
Mike is a solitary fisherman piloting his boat, the Robin, in search of crab off the Maryland coast. Mike is very concerned about money and calculates everything in his mind. A man could make $100 a day doing nothing but baiting a crab line with shrimp, Mike says, and go home after four hours of work, but people are too lazy for such tedious work. Mike baits his own line and gets out early to claim the best spots to fish. A young guy, he is extremely proud of being able to pay his bills, have a little saved up and have no boss tell him when or how to work.
Closest to my heart was Donny, a 60-year-old Hoosier paperboy who's delivered the Madison Courier newspaper every day for the last 16 years. Well, he tried going on vacation once, but his replacement did so poorly they called him back early. About 12 years ago, Donny had a stroke in the middle of delivering his papers, woke up in the hospital attached to a bunch of wires and still finished that day's route. He motors around in a battered silver Ford Fiesta, whipping his papers onto doorsteps or literally into the hands of his waiting customers with a craftsmanship that borders on artistry. Observing that it is a windy day, he rolls the papers just so, knowing they will fluff out in the plastic delivery tube in such a way that they won't blow out onto the ground. With his long hair hidden under a wool cap, gray sweat suit and craggy face, Donny reminded me of Mickey Rourke's character from "The Wrestler." Except Donny is far from washed up and is proud of bringing the day's news to his community. I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps delivering the Courier until he expires or the paper does.
Their three tales never intertwine, but somehow telling their stories together just feels true and right. In his straightforward, earnest portrait of a trio of seemingly unexceptional men, Goudsmit has touched the soul of a nation that sometimes forgets its hardscrabble roots.
4.5 Yaps