Dischord (2003)

29% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(28 ratings)

A woman in love with music finds herself trapped between a husband jealous of her success and a brother-in-law with a deadly secret in this independent thriller. Lucian (Andrew Borba) is a talented but arrogantly self-important musician and composer who has recently released an album in… More A woman in love with music finds herself trapped between a husband jealous of her success and a brother-in-law with a deadly secret in this independent thriller. Lucian (Andrew Borba) is a talented but arrogantly self-important musician and composer who has recently released an album in collaboration with his wife, a free-spirited violinist and singer named Gypsy (Annunziata Gianzero). While the album has become a critical and commercial success, Lucian is unhappy with the fact that many have credited Gypsy with the album's popularity and Gypsy has already been booked for a lucrative solo tour. As Lucian and Gypsy sort out their personal and professional differences, his half-brother, Jimmy (Thomas Jay Ryan), stops by to pay Lucian a visit. Lucian and Jimmy don't always get along, and Gypsy tries to bridge the gulf between them, striking up a rapport with the moody Jimmy. What Lucian and Gypsy don't know is that shortly before arriving at their Cape Cod home, Jimmy murdered his girlfriend and dumped her body in the ocean, and when it's discovered the next day, a local police detective, Dunbarton (Richard Bakalyan) comes by asking questions. A local eccentric known as The Beachcomber (Rick Wessler) is quickly charged with the crime, as Dunbarton, convinced the killer will strike again, wants the matter taken care of as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Jimmy finds himself increasingly attracted to his sister-in-law, while Gypsy, despite the tensions between herself and Lucian, isn't ready to leave him just yet, a decision that unknowingly puts her in grave danger. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Mark Wilkinson
Written By: Mark Wilkinson
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Dec 31, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Sep 28, 2004
Studio: Artistic License

Critic Reviews

Megan Lehmann, New York Post
A hackneyed, by-the-numbers race against the clock to stop a serial killer from striking again.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
The story is so crowded with incident and implication as to be both nonsensical and impossible to act, so the actors, when they are not bursting into fits of temper, smile mysteriously.
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
An atmospheric but insufferably soapy drama.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
If [Wilkinson] is at times arty and self-conscious, he shows promise as a deep-digging and personal filmmaker.
David Ng, Village Voice
Writer-director Mark Wilkinson gracefully elides backstories while arranging his converging narratives into a neat fugue, but the overall preciousness of his conception is suffocating.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
It'd be a far more interesting movie without the detective...it's a conventional, commercial cop/killer movie when he's on screen and an edgy, passionate one without him.
Brent Simon, Entertainment Today
A small but bracing breath of fresh air; if a little under-told, its problems at least stem from a creative gait that's refreshingly out of lockstep with the Hollywood-ized regurgitation of indie film convention.
Larry Carroll, Countingdown.com
Like an old relative you haven't seen in ten years, you know the story of Dischord, but enough has changed to make for an interesting visit.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The wintery New England landscape is the most striking thing about the film, but it's not interesting enough to justify watching it for 100 minutes.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
A bunch of loosely gathered storylines strung together with mostly rote dialogue, stilted performances and a disquieting sense of meaninglessness.
Mark Olsen, L.A. Weekly
A disappointing hodgepodge that fails to tie up its conflicting strands of family drama and suspense thriller.
Jules Brenner, Filmcritic.com
A flawed but ultimately worthwhile first directorial effort.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
A husband's jealousy, a brother's fury make for a good story marred by a woefully inadequate budget.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A beautiful to look at thriller/drama, but lacking a good story to go with its gorgeous Cape Cod winter setting.