Swedish Auto

Carter (Lukas Haas) is a quiet mechanic working with two other guys. Leroy (Lee Weaver) keeps trying to push him to do something while Bobby (Chris Williams) just pushes him around. He starts to spy on violinist Ann (Brianne Davis) but he finds that the waitress Darla (January Jones) is spying on him in turn. Darla is afraid of her mom's abusive boyfriend living with them while she can't leave her sick mom behind.

This one takes awhile to get going. Lukas Haas is playing the quiet shy guy yet again. He is great in these types of roles. January Jones is giving off a little bit of damaged mystery. I think her role is better for a mousy youngster to play. She's trying to portray shy but she can't escape her model looks. She does her best but I never got a solid feel for their chemistry. It's a little awkward. This small indie is the debut of writer/director Derek Sieg. It has a quiet dreary moody style. It's slow and maybe a little too slow. It shows some potential from this new filmmaker. There is some better drama later in the second half but it doesn't push as hard as it could have. Tim De Zarn plays the mom's boyfriend. He should have had more time to menace Darla and her mom. It's a little too quiet and never truly takes off.