Hunter Gatherer

Hunter Gatherer is by no means perfect, but it leaves an impression that will linger for days to come, as images of Ashley and Jeremy continue to haunt the mind. Hunter Gatherer is that rare film that sneaks around the corner and smashes headlong into the viewer.

This amiable look at life on the margins gradually accumulates a melancholy that punctures the drollness.

Deliberately steering clear of the usual gangland drugs-and-violence cliches, Josh Locy’s writing-directing debut features a welcome starring role for Andre Royo (“The Wire”), whose performance as a wily hustler trying to stay one step ahead of possible ruin sets the tone for this odd, occasionally mystifying but undeniably singular and imaginative work.

Hunter Gatherer doesn't look or feel like many movies being made right now.

Hunter Gatherer is a warmly eccentric little indie that’s amusing, authentic and works against expectation. B

Locy infuses the film with empathy and wit, and his grandly bittersweet imagination pulls the story toward tragedy, but he also plays loosely with stereotypes better left behind.

A deliberately offbeat characterization of mental illness, Hunter Gatherer is ultimately a failed act of empathy.