‘Catching Dust’ Review – Isolated Character Piece Leaves Us Just Out Of Reach

Movies, like all art forms, are a kind of specialized alchemy. No matter what the big-budget world will have you think, one cannot simply put all of the pieces in the film pot and expect excellence to come out in your cinematic bowl. No, it takes an excellent chef leading a team of people to put all of this together in a way that is even palatable. It has been said by many that movies are miracles, and they do seem just as rare. Catching Dust is a movie that has many of the pieces of a great independent film, but the ingredients never come together in a way that is not deeply frustrating.

Catching Dust, written and directed by Stuart Gatt, follows Geena (Erin Moriarty) on the precipice of ending her marriage with Clyde (Jai Courtney), but is interrupted by a New York couple, Andy (Ryan Corr)  and Amaya (Dina Shihabi), in their isolated area of Texas. What follows is a look at marriage, violence, and loss. It is simply unfortunate that these ideas never truly coalesce into a satisfying conclusion or even a series of cogent thoughts.

Now, that is not to say that there is nothing worthy on display here. Moriarty, best known for her TV work on The Boys, stands out among the four spouses. Frankly, she is the only one with a complete story, but it is also due to her obvious acting talent and willingness to not simply play the object of attention and affection. She is a woman trapped in a clearly abusive relationship, which leads to an internal performance that somehow leaks out through her facial features and the tension in her body. There are precious few scenes in which she lashes out and makes the internal external. And yet, she is infinitely watchable throughout the runtime. 

Her three co-stars are less memorable, but not all of that is in their control. Jai Courtney, who grunts his way through basically the entire film, cuts the perfect figure of the Western male archetype. His perfectly framed beard, his face mostly hidden by the shadow of his cowboy hat; it all strikes a balance between honor, rage, and regret. He isn’t given much to do, besides seemingly random explosions of emotion, but as a symbol, as nearly a piece of scenery, he is wildly effective. 

But now we come to Corr and Shihabi, whom we find out are a couple dealing with the loss of a pregnancy as well as other hidden troubles. The problem with a character piece like Catching Dust is that often, the audience has no background on these people and no way to connect. Here, that leads us into too much dialogue detailing their past, all while trying to balance new relationships with the other couple. It is too much and too little all at the same time and the film flounders around in this middle ground, almost daring the audience to tune out.

It should be noted, however, that the visuals, filmed by cinematographer Aurélien Marra, place us firmly in the right state of mind for this film. The detailed shots of nature force us to feel the isolation that all of our characters feel, especially Geena. This also assists us in feeling her yearning to escape, express, and feel anything, something different. This is something that the screenplay succeeds at, pointing her desires against Clyde’s unwillingness to bend. He actively wonders if we can escape what we are, whereas she is bursting at the seams, willing to try. 

The pieces of greatness gather throughout, but they keep managing to dodge one another, instead trading glancing blows focused on internal pain. This could all work very well with a more balanced film between the four leads. But instead, I was left wanting to simply follow Geena away from this film and leave all of the others in the dust without a second thought. In some ways, Catching Dust is the most upsetting kind of film. As a viewer, we see the opportunities arise and grit our teeth through poor choices. We must sigh and hope for a better effort from the obviously talented cast and crew on their next endeavor.

Catching Dust will debut in select theaters and on Digital platforms on August 23, 2024, courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.