"Cautionary Tale" - Film Review
Cautionary Tale has the heart of a John Carney flick. The film’s main character is Neil (Ted Limpert), who is known to much of the world as Safety Sam (think Mr. Rogers mixed with Steve from Blues Clues.) In real life, Neil is a far cry from that peppy persona. When the audience is introduced to him, he’s collecting the ashes of his estranged wife and daughter. They died in a car accident on their way to visit Neil for the first time in a very long time. At this moment of immense loss, his job takes him to Bangkok for a two-week press blitz for Safety Sam’s debut on Southeast Asian television. On his first night in Bangkok, Neil listens to a local band that’s fronted by a woman named Cherry (Napak Boonruang). After their set, Neil offers to help Cherry translate some of the band’s songs into English.
The music of the film is a character all its own. From Safety Sam’s jingles to Neil’s drunk reinterpretations of those jingles to Cherry’s band and the collaboration between Neil and Cherry, Cautionary Tale’s soundtrack spans genres and languages. It’s a celebration of the way music is a language all its own, one that transcends almost anything. The film’s score is also a lovely supplement to the gentle, observational camera work. The close-up shots of Neil as he’s working to process this period of immense sorrow are complemented by a subtle piano accompaniment that places the viewer in Neil’s headspace. It helps that Limpert served as lead actor as well as composer and screenwriter. The finale collaboration between Cherry and Neil sounds like it would have been at home in the 2019 A Star is Born.
cautionary tale
Even though Cautionary Tale is centered primarily on Neil, it’s a little disappointing that Cherry’s character is simplified to that of tour guide for Neil as he tries to process his emotions. Boonruang’s performance is lovely, and you get the sense that she’s more than capable of tackling a meatier role. Especially when a secret is revealed about her in the final twenty(ish) minutes of the film that acts as the catalyst for Neil’s emotional growth. Cherry plays a massive role in helping Neil work through his loss, but the audience doesn’t get to learn much about Cherry in return. As she was an active participant in writing the song that helps Neil, it would have been nice to have more depth to Cherry’s character.
Cautionary Tale refers to the idea that people go to Bangkok to run away from something or forget what’s troubling them, but after a while, they end up jaded and angry. These are cautionary tales of how not to process emotions. Burying something deep down that you don’t want to think about doesn’t solve anything, and it certainly doesn’t help you in the future. The only way out is through, a lesson Neil learns during his time in Bangkok. Cautionary Tale has twinges of Lost in Translation running through its veins, but one almost wishes that Neil had actually attended some of his scheduled press events, like Bill Murray’s character in Sofia Coppola’s work. Neil’s feelings of isolation would have felt more tangible to the viewer if he’d had to pretend to be Safety Sam to this new audience. The added wrinkle of Neil being known as an optimistic children’s performer while he’s grieving would have created a compelling sense of friction throughout the film.
cautionary tale
Cautionary Tale is director Christopher Zawadzki’s debut feature, and it’s clear that he has an eye for introspective character pieces. Zawadzki also acted as editor, co-screenwriter, and co-cinematographer, his fingerprints lovingly touching so many facets of this film. Much like the lead character of Neil, Cautionary Tale marks an exciting beginning for Zawadzki.
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