ABOUT THE PROJECT
LOGLINE
Josh Close stars as an American soldier struggling to make sense of civilian life when he is confronted with the complexities of gun violence in his hometown.
SYNOPSIS
AMERICAN SOLITAIRE is a film about one warrior’s journey to heal the wounds that undermine his romantic vision of life as a ‘protector.’ The film aims to disrupt the cyclical, and cynical, message that violence is the path to problem-solving. Through the portrait of a man grappling with the culture of firearms he was raised in, we’re asked to think deeper and different when we talk about guns. Writer/Director Aaron Davidman (‘Wrestling Jerusalem’) traveled throughout the U.S. talking to people about firearms and wrote the narrative based on his research.
SLINGER, played by Josh Close, was raised by a proud American father and carries the mantle of ‘rugged individualism’ that was handed him as he spends his best years in the Army. But the costs of a life in the military are high, and when he returns home wounded from his final tour in Afghanistan he discovers a lonely existence as a veteran and estrangement from his own young son. A near-death experience on the battlefield has changed him forever.
In order to heal, Slinger must reckon with his own violence; with the absentee father he’s become; and with the feeling in his gut that something is desperately wrong with a country that sent him to defend freedom overseas yet can’t prevent staggering gun violence at home.
But the path of self-reflection is challenging and does not follow a straight line. A suicide close to Slinger propels the film in an unexpected direction, forcing him to truly face himself if he is to find the inner peace for which he yearns. Eventually his journey leads him to the inevitable conclusion: that he must give up his violence and his weapons to open his heart and claim his true manhood.
PROJECT TYPE Narrative Feature
DIRECTOR Aaron Davidman
SCREENWRITER Aaron Davidman
PRODUCER Aaron Davidman, Dylan Kussman, Josh Close
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Maris Meyerson, Dan Cohn
WEBSITE americansolitairefilm.com
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