Landing Up

The feature film “Landing Up” is a story about a girl living on the streets with nothing to lose and everything to hide, directed by Dani Tenenbaum and produced/written by Stacey Maltin. The narrative feature stars Maltin (“Working On It,” “Lipstick Jungle”), Ben Rappaport (ABC’s “For the People,” USA’s “Mr. Robot”), E’dena Hines (“5 Flights Up,” “Moll Flanders”), Dov Tiefenbach (“Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, “Homeland”), Theodora (Woolley) Miranne (“The Blacklist: Redemption,” “Blue Bloods”) and Jay DeYonker (“Royally,” “Puerto Ricans in Paris”), and is an Official Selection in Competition Features at Dances With Films

“Landing up” is the tragic story of a young woman that developes a promiscuous persona to ensure she has a roof over her head and a warm meal. The difficulties of this lifestyle worsens when she meets a caring man that she needs to hide her true self from. Stacey Maltin wrote this haunting account that pierces deeply into the psyche of a woman trying to stay off the streets at night. Maltin’s portrayal of Callie/Chrissie is difficult to stomach at times as we watch idly as she must perform demeaning sexual acts for the simplest of creature comforts.

When Chrissie meets David (Ben Rappaport) she introduces herself as Callie and the deceit only continues to spiral out of control from this point on. Rappaport plays David as a seemingly naive but hopeful man who works in advertising yet finds inspiration in Callie. David immediately falls for Callie and her charms continue to seduce him but her best friend Cece (the late E’dena Hines) warns her of the impossibility of maintaining this secret identity.

Callie (Maltin) struggles continually with this balance of two lives that she cannot keep up with. Is she in love with David or is she merely using him for a warm bed and a full stomach? Callie attempts to prove to herself that it is love and that she is not using David but the tribulations she faces are emotionally heavy. It seems almost impossible and inevitable that Callie can withstand the circumstances she is surrounded by but it does not stop the audience from rooting for Callie to overcome these insurmountable odds.

Even though she is tricking David as their relationship deepens she is the protagonist but also her own antagonist as her problems are rooted in her shrouded past. It is understandable however that all of these issues for Callie stem from a dark history that she alludes to in subtle dialogue and interactions with David. Upon a second rewatch and uncovering Callie’s history you will empathise even more so with the situation she has been stuck in and why she chooses to hide who she really is from David and even Cece. The depths to which Callie is prepared to go to keep David in her life can be seen as both catastrophically disgusting and evil as well as desperate beyond measure.

Either way, Stacey Maltin’s portrait of Callie is a poignant observation of the truth behind how millions of homeless Americans survive and all the ordeals they must go through on a day to day bases. E’Dena Hines final role as Cece is an intense depiction that is true to life and it is a great loss that we will not have further films graced by her talents. Ben Rappaport plays David with the appropriate amount of gullibility and belief in Callie that keeps the structure of the film together. Director Dani Tenenbaum focuses on each character's weakest and most vulnerable moments that allows the insight needed to understand their ambitions. Stacey Maltin and Ben Rappaport have a dynamic chemistry that allows for the overall story arc to be fully realized in all of its disturbing nature.

Saw the 09 June 2017

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