Muskegon Film Festival 2009

Lost and Gone Forever is a slice of life drama set in the city of Newburgh, NY. The film follows a week in the life of Laura, a young waitress living at home with her widowed mother. During the week the film takes place, Laura's mother's car os stuck in the shop, and Laura is without a car for the week. As the film opens, Laura is kicked out of a concrete yard, where she stops on her way home from work to sneak a cigarette. Upon arriving home, she hears that Nick, her best friend's ex, has called the house and wants to speak with her. Laura agrees to meet him at the local luncheonette, where she is known and liked by its friendly owner, Al. Nick, obviously distraught, pressures Laura for information on why his heart has been recently broken. When asked if Ashley, Laura's best friend, is seeing someone else, Laura reluctantly lies. Disgusted, Nick storms out of the cafe. Days later, Laura seeks a ride home from work with Ashley and her new boy toy, the mysterious, lowly looking, Pete. When they arrive to pick her up, she asks her boss if she can leave. The problem is that her coverage has not arrived yet. So the three of them get stuck waiting at the bar/burger joint for longer than Pete is comfortable with. On the way home, Pete takes a detour to go 'do something'. He pulls into a dark, mysterious parking lot, grabs an envelope out of the glove compartment, and, despite the girls' protests, leaves them in the car, and disappears into the darkness. A long, uncomfortable moment later, shots are fired, and Laura and Ashley's worlds are turned upside down. In a moment of uncontrolled panic, they burst out of the car and run off through the woods. Emerging in a residential neighborhood, Laura begs Ashley to tell her who this 'Pete' guy is and how she got mixed up with him. To emotional to answer, Ashley can't bring herself to speak about it. Then, her cell phone rings. It's Pete. He's been shot and needs help. Ashley runs back to help him, insisting that Laura go home and that she'll be fine. Realizing that trying to help her is a lost cause, Laura reluctantly lets her go, and walks home, alone. Days later, Laura notices, at work, the concrete worker that kicked her out of the yard. She approaches his table, flirtatious as their first encounter, and, with the help of the vodka she had snuck into her water bottle, has a drunken-good time with her newly found friend. The second half of the film is a love story between two different people, both 'lost' and looking for companionship in a harsh American landscape. Through all of the characters' experiences, a sense of aimlessness, hopelessness, and powerlessness floats in the air. The film is largely about the middle class' struggle to simply 'be happy' in a time of low wages, high gas prices, a decaying economy, and a general public apathy for each other. As the story meanders on, Laura nurtures those relationships worth preserving, and severs the ones that aren't. By the time the film ends, Laura has learned a few things about the faults and virtues of depending on other people, as well as love, loss, and middle class life in rough times. Unlike many films which aim to hide the environment in which they take place, Lost and Gone forever aims to be specific in its setting. As much as it is about character and plot, it is about time and place, specifically, the suburban middle class struggle circa 2008.