"A Tree Fell in the Woods" and Tribeca Was There to Hear It

The Tribeca Film Festival is no stranger to high profile films. Every year some of the world's biggest stars from both behind and in front of the camera flock to New York City to show off their work at one the country's most high profile festivals. This week saw the release of Nora Kirkpatrick's A Tree Fell in the Woods, starring Josh Gad, Alexandra Daddario, Ashley Park, and Daveed Diggs. A flawed yet charming film that examines the complexities of human relationships as two couples discover gradually bigger secrets about one another.

A Tree Fell in the Woods is an independent film about two couples on a rural getaway to celebrate New Year's Eve. Josh and Deb, played by Daveed Diggs and Alexandra Daddario and Mitch and Melanie played by Josh Gad and Ashley Park. Deb and Mitch are also lifelong friends, who have been there for each other through the best and worst of times. At first the four were looking forward to a fun trip away from the world to celebrate the closing of the year, until Deb and Mitch catch their respective spouses cheating on them with the other's. What follows is a thoroughly awkward 90 minutes consisting of tearful monologues and an abundance of cringe humor.

A Tree Fell in the Woods is the kind of film that benefits from having as small of a cast as it does. Other than a very minor neighbor character, the film is largely just these four characters hashing out their issues in a vacation home. Josh Gad gives easily one of his strongest performances in the role of Mitch, providing a good balance of genuine laughs and sympathy from the audience. His performance is the best part of this film, bar none.

But while this film has plenty of strengths, pretty much every issue can be summed up by "too soon" or "too much." The funniest material from the script comes from when Deb and Mitch are concealing that they know their spouses are cheating on them. We see them biting their tongues, looking way too deep into passing interactions, and just generally screaming internally. It's a relatable film for those who have had to pretend everything is okay when they feel like tearing apart everything in the room. Unfortunately, this dynamic ends almost twenty minutes later when Melanie spills her and Josh's big secret. What follows is a myriad of painful talks and monologues between characters. If this tension had been held out for longer, the script would've been much stronger and given way to more laughs rather than sighs. I feel like this film doesn't know where its true strengths are, resulting in too little of the best material and too much of the okay material.

The constant, emotional monologuing is sure to remind some viewers of Sam Levinson's Malcolm and Marie.

Credit: Cherry The Geek TV

Probably my biggest gripe with this overall decent film is that for the entire runtime, I couldn't help but think: "this should've been a short." The script that Nora Kirkpatrick and company were able to put together has quite a bit of potential and some genuinely great moments, however there's just not enough conflict to warrant a 96 minute feature film.

Despite my issues with A Tree Fell in the Woods, it is a decently written comedy that's sure to entertain you and your friends come next movie night. Hopefully this opens more doors for Nora Kirkpatrick and company.