A simple tale – simply told, using minimal budget and director’s minimalist style.  BALLAST which marks the directorial debut of African American life in the Mississippi Delta moves as slow as a river during a drought.

Hammer’s film begins with the discovery of a wounded African American from a gun shot wound.  The camera follows the white neighbour (shot mainly from the back of the characters) as he moves around the house, recording his words, as if he is speaking to the camera, of what is happening.  The pace is slow, the mood is consistent and this style of filmmaking usually allows the viewer to ponder and feel the emotions of the characters – in this case the single mother (Tarra Riggs) and 12-year old son (Jim Myron Ross).  Most of the time, Hammer’s characters have nothing much to say (or do), if they do speak, the words are ramblings of daily routines or frustrations.

BALLAST won the Sundance directing and cinematography awards in the dramatic category.  Hammer is fond of dark shadows more than the light and he often loves to frame his characters in repose.  Hammer hits his point home – but it is a chore to sit through this feature, Though BALLAST runs around 90 minutes, it feels a full three hours.  It just feels that more often than not, there is a more efficient way to get a point across.