Jasper Mall (2020)

Directed by Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb.

Bottom line: There are hoards of YouTube channels that look at dilapidated malls (specifically) but they tend not to have the quiet, thought-out story arcs found in Jasper Mall; for a chill movie to watch, I recommend this one. 3.5/4

Malls are closing. Why go out to these massive spaces to buy something (at probably a higher cost) than just getting it online? I certainly remember going to malls; there were two malls that I went to in Pittsburgh, PA. Actually, three. There were three malls that I went to. There was (is, at the time of writing) The Galleria. It's the "fancy mall" or "rich mall" but, for a little me, a very boring mall. There was no arcade, no videogame store. They had one of those rich kid toy stores, you know, the ones with the science toys and the super high detail plastic figurines? Next, we have South Hills Village. I think this one is solidly middle class. It's got the staples; Hallmark, Disney Store, Gamespot.

Though, a quick aside, I think it might be starting to go a little downhill. How do I know? They got rid of the Taco Bell and replaced it with a generic taco place. How could you do that to me, South Hills Village? 

Lastly, we had* Century III Mall. This one has quite the YouTube footprint. It was massive and popular but, alas, is now closed. 

Anyway! This is all to say, malls were a thing. They were fun to hang out around at least for my generation so maybe there's some nostalgia going on here. Similarly, seeing old falling apart structures can be kinda fun too; that's why there are so many YouTube videos like this.

This brings us to Jasper Mall, this is a documentary that explores the mall of the same name in Jasper Alabama over the course of a year. We have a cast of characters with whom we follow too. We have a high school couple. We have a retired man who plays dominos with his friends. We have a florist who has been at the mall for twenty-five years. Finally, we have the manager/caretaker/head security/head of marketing/head janitor/tiger king (he looks like Tiger King and he used to own a private zoo). All of the people are nice and enjoyable to watch. Their back-stories aren't the deepest nor is there much character development but, for real, that's not why we're here.

One of the great things about this documentary is that it's quiet. Sometimes, when you have one that is making an argument like Blackfish, you have more of an in-your-face structure. The interviews are juxtaposed to highlight discrepancies. Jasper Mall, however, lets the images speak for themselves. At one point, the manager is talking about his hopes to galvanize the mall. The camera lingers. You have the time to soak in his facial expression: fear, worry, and yet hope. Simple but effective.

If my memory serves me, I gave Blackfish a 4/4 because it really got me pumped up. Jasper Mall was a very pleasant, thoughtful meander through the mall but it didn't get me pumped up so I'm not going to give it a perfect score. It was something that you could very easily have on in the background (though you'd miss some of the really good shots). I'd also have appreciated a bit of a post-script; I wanted to learn what happened to the manager guy...

Although, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe that's kinda the idea. He might still be at the mall working as he has been to save it. The mall is still there, a shadow of its former self, but it remains. Nothing really changes at the mall, it just slowly fades. So maybe we can imagine the manager in a similar state. Oh, I like it. Alright, I'll bump up the score a little more.

So, in summary, with the quiet and well-thought-out cinematography alongside an interesting subject matter, I would recommend Jasper Mall.

What do you think, Reader? When was the last time you went to a mall? Thanks for reading!