Filmmaking is a tough industry, but hard work and perseverance can pay off, and if anyone knows that it’s Jacob Tierney. It’s been seven years since his last film, 2003's Twist, but only because the coveted green light of moviemaking was just out of the writer-director’s reach. But his time did come and it was certainly worth the wait, because at the Tribeca Film Festival Tierney presented us with The Trotsky.
The film is about a kid named Leon Bronstein (Jay Baruchel) who genuinely believes he’s the reincarnation of the Bolshevik revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky. Rather than studying or trying to make new friends, Leon sees his new school as an environment with the potential to be unionized. Leon’s other Trotsky-related efforts include marrying an older woman named Alexandra and hunting down his own Vladimir Ulyanov.
The Trotsky is a completely original spin on the typical high school comedy. It’s smart and thoughtful, as is Tierney. Check out what the writer-director told me about his film in this brief interview shot guerilla style in the depths of the Village East Cinema.
