It is grainy. It is loud. It is honestly quite uncomfortable to watch if you’re sitting next to your parents. I’m talking about The Colour Wheel, the 2011 film that basically slapped the face of the American independent film scene and didn't bother to apologize afterward. Directed by Alex Ross Perry, who also stars in it, the movie is a black-and-white road trip nightmare that feels like a transmission from a different era, yet it’s undeniably modern in its cynicism.
Most movies about siblings involve some level of "we don't get along but we love each other." This movie? It skips the love and goes straight for the jugular. It’s about JR and Colin, two people who seem to hate the world almost as much as they hate being in a Honda Accord together. If you've ever felt like an outcast in your own family, or like your life is a series of embarrassing failures caught on 16mm film, this is the movie that gets it.
The Lo-Fi Aesthetic of The Colour Wheel
Alex Ross Perry didn't have a massive budget. He had a 16mm camera and a very specific vision of what failure looks like. The film is shot in high-contrast black and white, which makes everything look a bit grittier and more desperate than it probably was in real life. It’s a choice. It forces you to focus on the dialogue and the shifting expressions of the actors rather than any flashy scenery.
The grain is thick. Sometimes it feels like you're looking through a screen door. This isn't just "indie" for the sake of it; the visual style mirrors the messy, unrefined lives of the protagonists. JR (played by Carlen Altman) is an aspiring broadcast journalist with zero talent for it. Colin is her younger brother who spends most of his time trying to sound smarter than he is. They are traveling to move JR's things out of her ex-professor's apartment. It's a simple premise that spirals into a psychological mess.
Why 16mm Matters Here
Choosing 16mm film in 2011 was a statement. While everyone else was rushing toward the clean, sterile look of early digital cameras, Perry went backward. He wanted that "mumblecore" vibe but with more teeth. The aesthetic references the works of Philip Roth or the early films of Woody Allen, but it's stripped of the prestige. It’s raw. It’s ugly. It’s perfect for a story about two people who can’t find their place in a world that doesn't seem to want them anyway.
A Script That Bites Back
The dialogue in The Colour Wheel is fast. It’s incredibly fast. It feels like a Screwball comedy from the 1930s if the characters were all depressed and obsessed with indie rock. JR and Colin trade insults like they’re Olympic athletes. They don't talk like normal people; they talk like people who have spent too much time reading books they didn't quite understand and watching movies they didn't quite like.
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"You're a failed person," one might say, and the other doesn't even blink. It’s brutal.
But here’s the thing: beneath the vitriol, there is a weird, warped sense of recognition. They are the only two people who truly "see" each other, even if what they see is a total train wreck. Carlen Altman, who co-wrote the script with Perry, brings a specific kind of manic energy to JR. She’s annoying. She’s frustrating. You kind of want to turn the movie off, but you can’t because she’s so genuinely human in her delusions.
Breaking the Mumblecore Mold
Back when this came out, everyone was talking about mumblecore—films like Funny Ha Ha or The Puffy Chair. Those movies were often about aimless twenty-somethings drifting through life. The Colour Wheel fits that description on paper, but the tone is wildly different. It’s not "cute." It’s not "quirky." It’s acidic.
Critics like A.O. Scott and Richard Brody noticed this immediately. They saw that Perry was doing something more aggressive. He wasn't just observing these characters; he was pushing them into a corner to see how they’d snap. The movie doesn't ask you to like JR or Colin. It asks you to witness them. That’s a massive distinction in an industry that usually demands "relatable" protagonists.
That Ending (No Spoilers, But Let's Talk)
We have to mention the ending. It’s the thing everyone talks about when they talk about The Colour Wheel. For about eighty minutes, you think you’re watching a dark comedy. Then, the last ten minutes happen.
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The camera stops moving.
The cuts become less frequent.
The atmosphere shifts from "uncomfortable road trip" to something truly haunting. It’s one of the most polarizing finales in independent cinema history. Some people find it repulsive. Others find it to be a logical, albeit disturbing, conclusion to the codependency displayed throughout the film. It changes the context of everything you just watched. It turns a comedy into a tragedy, or maybe a tragedy into a different kind of horror.
The Legacy of Alex Ross Perry
After this film, Alex Ross Perry went on to make Listen Up Philip and Her Smell. You can see the DNA of The Colour Wheel in those later works. The obsession with difficult people. The refusal to give the audience an easy out. The love for film grain and tight close-ups.
But there’s something special about this specific movie. It feels like a lightning strike. It’s the sound of a filmmaker finding his voice by screaming at the top of his lungs. It’s also a reminder that you don't need a hundred million dollars to make something that stays in people's heads for over a decade. You just need a camera, a car, and a script that isn't afraid to be hated.
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Influences and Parallels
- Vincent Gallo: You can feel the influence of The Brown Bunny or Buffalo '66 in the way the film handles loneliness and road-trip boredom.
- Whit Stillman: The hyper-articulate dialogue mirrors Stillman’s work, but with the class and manners stripped away.
- Elaine May: The awkward, cringe-inducing humor is a direct descendant of The Heartbreak Kid.
Honestly, it’s a miracle the movie got made at all. It was shot in eight days. Eight days! That kind of schedule creates a frantic energy that you can’t fake in a studio. The actors are tired. The crew is tired. That exhaustion bleeds into the performances. When Colin looks annoyed, he’s probably actually annoyed.
Why You Should Watch It Now
We live in an era of "content." Everything is polished. Everything is designed to be consumed while you’re scrolling through your phone. The Colour Wheel is the opposite of content. It demands your attention because it’s so abrasive. It’s a reminder that movies can be dangerous. They can be weird. They can make you feel gross.
If you’re tired of the same three plot structures repeated in every streaming service original, hunt this down. It’s a piece of film history that proves the "Indie Spirit" wasn't just a marketing term in the early 2010s—it was a real, vibrating, angry thing.
Finding the Movie
Finding a copy can be a bit of a hunt depending on where you live. It’s been on various streaming platforms like MUBI or Criterion Channel over the years. Physical copies exist, but they’re becoming collector’s items. It’s worth the effort.
Actionable Steps for Indie Film Fans
If you want to dive deeper into this style of filmmaking or if The Colour Wheel resonated with you, here is how to explore that world further without getting lost in the "mumblecore" weeds:
- Watch "Listen Up Philip": It’s Alex Ross Perry’s follow-up with a bigger budget (starring Jason Schwartzman). It carries the same caustic wit but with a more refined literary feel.
- Research Carlen Altman: She’s a fascinating creator who brings a unique, often overlooked perspective to the film's writing. Her comedic timing is what keeps the movie from being purely bleak.
- Explore 16mm Cinematography: Look up the work of Sean Price Williams, the cinematographer. He’s the guy responsible for the look of this film and many other modern indie classics like Good Time. Understanding how film stock affects mood will change how you watch movies.
- Listen to the Commentary: if you can find the DVD, the commentary track is actually insightful. It breaks down how they managed to shoot a feature film in such a short window with almost no resources.
Don't go into this expecting a feel-good story. Go into it expecting to meet two of the most irritating people ever put on screen, and then realize, with a bit of horror, that you kind of recognize them. Maybe even in yourself. That’s the power of the film. It doesn't look away from the ugly parts of being human. It puts a 16mm lens right in their face.