As part of the Narrative Competition at SxSW this year, PURE O is having one final screening at SxSW and if you are town, it’s really worth checking out.
ABOUT: Cooper Ganz’s seemingly perfect life quickly unravels when he is diagnosed with a crippling form of OCD called Pure Obsessional. This often misunderstood illness forces him to question his identity and sanity, all while trying to keep it together for his fiancé, family, and co-workers. As he learns to accept his disease, and the vulnerability that comes along with it, his world starts to open up. The addiction recovery clients he works with at a high end Malibu drug rehab return the favor and help Cooper through his darkest hour.
JASON’S REACTION: A telling if slightly overlong look at OCD and the effects it has on people, PURE O takes places almost entirely around our lead Cooper (Daniel Dorr) who is trying to be a good person in his relationships and family while also dealing with his condition which is taking him in all directions mentally. PURE O is a lot to go through as it really shows how Cooper is dealing with all of his internal struggles while at the same time trying to maintain a relationship and care for everyone around him. At 118 minutes I feel the running time could have been cut down a bit and yet I was also fascinated by Cooper’s journey along with the natural, indie filmmaking and discovering a lot of new talents with all of the terrific performances. PURE O is still in the film festival stages but it should have a good run and a distributor ready to pick it up soon for a limited release or on streaming.
This film and many others like it will be showing at South By Southwest taking place March 10-19. For more information point your browser to www.sxsw.com!