Postal is kind of hard to talk about without spoiling. But let’s start here — it’s great.
The film is a black comedy that purports to be about the true story of Phillip Tress (Michael Shenefelt), a Florida man who goes off the rails trying to get a very important package redelivered just before Christmas. The customer service representative at the shipping company, Kevin Pinedo (Eric Vega), gets dragged into his madness before the day is over.
It’s crass, gory, ridiculous and again, so enjoyable.
The film played to very receptive audiences at the 19th annual deadCenter Film Festival, where crowds guffawed and groaned all through both of the movie’s screenings.
At his first audience Q&A, writer/director/producer Tyler Falbo hinted that the production had run into some kind of legal trouble with their supposedly real-life subjects. The audience was absolutely intrigued.
He wouldn’t talk on the record about that side of his filmmaking process, but we’ll just suggest maybe trying a Google search for Phillip Tress to draw your own conclusions.
Falbo was happy to discuss other aspects of the movie when he sat down with Cinematropolis before his second screening.
On his inspirations
One reason the film lands so well is that the main characters’ frustrations are universal. Most of us have been stuck on the phone with a robot voice at some point, struggling to find a human to help.
Falbo said he worked in production in Atlanta after college and had many similar moments himself.
“I’ve had some really weird experiences with FedEx,” Falbo said, “where we needed something that day for shooting for a TV show, or something.”
He said he’s run down the carrier truck before, despite the representative on the phone warning him not to.
“I’m like, I’m going to just try and make a movie that encapsulates the worst parts of all that,” he said.
The story taking place in Florida also lends it authenticity. At least some viewers will be familiar with the “Florida Man” meme, which took off in 2013 after readers noted a preponderance of news articles with “Florida Man” in the headline, usually related to unusual or comedic events.
So when presented with the story of a Florida Man who goes crazy during a customer service call, audiences think, “Of course.” It’s instantly believable.
Working with limited locations and cast
One of the film’s biggest strengths is that it does not feel boxed in by its limited locations or small cast.
The characters are constantly kept moving between rooms (and even time periods, through the use of flashbacks), so the story doesn’t seem like it is small, even though it takes place in one house, with the two characters communicating exclusively via phone.
Falbo said it took about three years total to make the movie at a budget of under fifty thousand.
“I think it was the simplicity of picking a story that would make sense for that, and not trying to frame a story that would make sense [being] bigger into a smaller location,” he said.
Postal is an excellent example of strong narrative tension, escalating conflict, and emotional storytelling, perhaps because of that simplicity. The plot has to be focused and well constructed. Without both lead characters having solid backstories and clear motivations, they would not be able to carry the film’s hour and a half runtime.
Of course, the production had its bumpy moments, Falbo said.
“The character of Phillip Tress is very neurotic, and Michael, who played him, really got into that space,” he said. “It was a 19-day shoot, and we fought that whole time because he was going crazy. And so was I. Because we were all sleeping in that house, too.”
Striking the right tone
As a black comedy, Postal has to find a delicate balance between genuine emotion and slightly zany, dark humor. Comedy has always been a space for the mixing of the maudlin and the madcap, and Postal finds a home there almost effortlessly.
“My goal is to find the worst things that you can laugh about,” Falbo said. “Because that’s, I think, what the point of comedy is, dealing with emotional issues.”
In the film, Falbo wisely included an emotional backstory for Tress, who is bullied as a child and nurses a deep, unrequited love for several years, making him empathetic despite his unhinged behavior as an adult.
What’s next for Falbo
Falbo said he has completed a block of shorts called “Greetings from Florida” for a late-night FX show that should be released later this year. He’s also developing several script ideas.
Postal does not yet have a distribution deal, so keep an eye on its festival schedule and catch it if you can.
