Just got out of Dallas 362, the film starring, written and directed by Scott Caan. It had its world theatrical premiere here at The Neon last night. I enjoyed it. The tone brought to mind Clerks and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I'll flesh this out later but for now I have to get back into the theater, Gunner Palace is about to start.

The film stars Caan as Dallas. He and Shawn Hatosy's Rusty are two twenty-somethings living in California and basically waiting for their lives to make a turn either for the better or the worse. As things stand they're two hard-drinking guys who collect for a bookie and get into a LOT of bar fights. Dallas seems happy with this and is looking to make the move to full-blown criminal. Rusty on the other hand isn't so sure. Trying to work things out he starts seeing Bob, a therapist and the boyfriend of his mother (Kelly Lynch).

Dallas 362 is a snappily written coming-of-age story. It takes the growing rift between Dallas and Rusty seriously but doesn't get overly dramatic or bogged down in the woe-is-me-where-do-I-go-from-here aspects of it. Caan manages to get very solid performances out of his actors and the still-photo montages, which could easily be overused, work and add a great deal to the film stylistically.

Overall Dallas 362 is a very solid first feature from Scott Caan.

3 out of 4 stars.