Douglas J. Abel

T.J. Thyne stars as Lovell Milo in the independent film “Shuffle,” directed by Kurt Kuenne.

“Shuffle” is a feature by filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, who has been best-known for his documentary “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father.” That was one of the best movies of 2008—an unflinchingly honest, sometimes brutal documentary about Kuenne’s murdered close friend, Andrew Bagby. Here, he shows a different side of his filmmaking talents—he wrote, directed and composed the music for his full-length narrative debut.

“Shuffle” is the story of Lovell Milo (T.J. Thyne, Jack Hodgins from “Bones”), a man who wakes up at a different age every time he goes to sleep. At first he tries to make it stop but then begins to realize that it must be happening for a reason. It transforms from sci-fi to detective story to dark drama quickly. His abusive father and his childhood friend, and later wife, Grace (Paula Rhodes), both figure into the equation heavily.

Rhodes, a native of St. Louis, is best in show. At first her energetic character alienated me, but she slowly revealed new layers and nuances to Grace. Grace felt at first like a caricature, but Rhodes is surprisingly good at the quiet, emotional moments. Chris Stone, on the other hand, is almost comic-book-villainous in his portrayal of Lovell’s father. The man is just a monster, and I never understood why. T.J. Thyne is adequate as the leading man at many different ages, but he never captivated me with his portrayal. Other members of the “Bones” cast appear in small cameo roles.

Obviously, “Shuffle” is not a linear narrative. It also plays with many other nontraditional devices, including “mental journal entries” in which Lovett breaks the fourth wall to basically lay out for the audience what has happened. It’s an undeniably interesting failure. Despite a questionable-at-best plot, I was still emotionally attached to the characters. However, I was most moved by a scene where they had to put down Grace’s dog, so maybe I’m just a sap. Kuenne is very good at the smaller moments of character; he understands how people talk. But most of the script is telling and not showing. The ending felt a little too tidy, and the stylistic flourishes alienated me. His choice to shoot in black and white results in some very weird moments of lighting, and it feels almost lazy. Hit-and-miss movies can only be good if they hit more than they miss, and watching a talented filmmaker and cast miss so often in a movie with rich potential is both sad and fascinating.

“Shuffle” will play on Nov. 20 at the Tivoli Theatre as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival.