Caramel, Over Her Dead Body, Tre, The Eye

Mobra Films/Adi Paduretu

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More About

• Nadine Labaki
• Daniel Cariaga
• Ella Taylor
• Miley Cyrus
• Abortion

GO  TRE Unlike most indie dramas about rudderless 20-somethings who exorcise their hang-ups by talking and screwing each other to death, Tre is something rare: a perceptive, nonindulgent chamber piece that wrings a little art from that anxious age. Needing a break from life in the city, professional slacker Tre (Daniel Cariaga) crashes at the home of best buddy Gabe (Erik McDowell) and Gabe's girlfriend Kakela (co-writer Kimberly-Rose Wolter), only to discover the guest room is already occupied by Nina (Alix Koromzay), an aspiring actress newly separated from her husband. Soon, Tre begins a passionless affair with Nina, while Gabe and Kakela ponder marriage, silently observing their houseguests' exploits from a distance. Directed and co-written by Eric Byler (Charlotte Sometimes), Tre suffers from a familiar quarter-life-crisis setup, but the film repeatedly sidesteps the cliché of confessional dramas, eschewing "I feel this way — and therefore so does my whole generation" monologues for the naturalistic patter of sympathetic, half-formed adults whose unstable sex lives belie a deeper, unspoken malaise. All four performers deliver nicely subtle turns, but the best of the group is newcomer Cariaga: In the wrong hands, Tre would be just another enigmatic nonconformist who learns how to open his heart, but Cariaga transforms him into an uncertain man-child juggling the fashionable cynicism that protects him with the genuine feelings that will lead him to maturity or heartbreak. (Sunset 5; One Colorado) (Tim Grierson)