From Jeremy Kibler

Graduating from college and thinking your life will just begin on its own is a normal feeling to have. It’s like a purgatory. As with any transitional phase in life, it’s alternately full of fear, melancholy, and excitement for both losing something and gaining something. That’s the frame of mind that’s felt in writer-director Jac Cron’s feature directorial debut Chestnut, a small film that doesn’t feel small in impact. 

Natalia Dyer stars as Annie, a Philadelphia college grad all lined up for a finance job in Los Angeles, even though she’s a poet at heart. She plans to spend the remainder of her summer in the city, while slowly packing up her apartment. One night while drinking alone in a dive war, Annie meets the flirtatious Tyler (Rachel Keller) and Danny (Danny Ramirez), two roommates out for a drink after working their shift at a high-end restaurant. They may just be platonic, or they might not be. Tyler takes a shine to Annie, while Danny keeps his distance a little. Before Annie knows it, the not-really-a-couple keeps inviting her out for a drink, and it’s thrilling to make a connection with not one but two people. Does she actually leave Philly for this big kid job, or does Annie stay and see where things go?

Describing the rest of the film would be pointless, as Chestnut just unfolds as if it were real life. There isn’t some melodramatic love triangle between Annie, Tyler, and Danny, but she does have interactions with both of them, collectively and separately. Annie comes across so quiet and hesitant around Tyler that it is initially surprising that Tyler, a party girl who doesn’t communicate her feelings, would give her the time of day, but every character has shading. That the film doesn’t question whether Annie is bisexual or just experimenting is also a shrewd choice; she’s just living. 

Does it say anything revelatory about post-college plans? No, not really, but Chestnut feels achingly honest through the natural performances, particularly Dyer who can convey what she’s feeling with her smile, and some delicate hand-held camerawork that feels germane to the story being told. Also being shot in Philadelphia, the film really does like a love note to the City of Brotherly Love (or at least its nightlife and Chestnut Street). Chestnut may be too low-stakes for some, but as a hangout movie about a very specific time in a young adult’s life, it’s intimate, alive, and rewarding. 

Rating: 3.5/5

Chestnut screened at the 32nd Philadelphia Film Festival.

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