Seeking sanctuary, a bank robber on the run turns to home invasion. His victim, an apparent dilettante, endeavors to turn the tables. But things are not what they seem, resulting in a roller coaster ride of plot twists, surprises and a dinner party from Hell.

The Perfect Host is the epitome of Independent Cinema. Evolved from an award-winning short film, a labor of love crafted over several years into a full-length screenplay, shot in just 17 days on a limited budget, enhanced by strong commitment from accomplished actors who could easily make much more money with less challenging mainstream roles.

The result: outstanding lead performances and a darkly comedic thriller with myriad twists that keep you guessing — totally engrossing and fun to watch!

Even with a few structural flaws, The Perfect Host considerably exceeds expectations normally accorded a director's first feature length film. To preserve your viewing pleasure and the element of surprise, we suggest avoiding external reviews or clips with spoilers.


About the Film

The Perfect Host - The Dinner Party as Dying Art
By Leo Sopicki

Winston Churchill once said, "Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."  So, too, is The Perfect Host, a Sundance 2010 selection by Australian filmmaker Nick Tomnay, opening July 2011.

On the surface, the story in this psychological thriller is straight forward. Warwick Wilson, played by David Hyde Pierce (Dr. Niles Crane in Frasier), carefully prepares for a dinner party, the table impeccably set and the duck perfectly timed for 8:30 p.m.

John Taylor (Clayne Crawford, One Blood Planet, 24) is a career criminal who just robbed a bank and needs to get off the street. Taylor talks himself into Warwick's home, posing as a friend of a friend, new to Los Angeles, who's been mugged and lost his luggage.

As the evening progresses, riddles, mysteries and enigmas unfold, convolute and twist again and again. The roles of protagonist and antagonist flip back and forth as each of the lead characters plays mind games and tricks on one another. The dinner party unfolds like none you've ever seen and includes my favorite line from the film: "You can't kill me, I'm having a dinner party."

David Hyde Pierce does an incredible job creating a character who channels Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle filtered through La Cage aux Folles and A Beautiful Mind. Don't think about that too hard; you'll understand after you've seen this engrossing film.

Clayne Crawford's performance is also top notch. He creates sympathy for a totally unsympathetic character. Even a professional bank robber can have a bad day and be cursed by a crazy girlfriend. The girl friend is played seductively and manipulatively by Internet diva Megahn Perry (Hate My 30's, The Gravedancers).

This project was a long time in gestation for writer-director (and editor) Nick Tomnay, who shares writing credits with collaborator Krishna Jones. It originated as a short film, The Host, set in Tomnay's native Australia in 1999. In its original version it won several prizes including Australia's AFI Best Short Film Award. Tomnay moved to New York where he continued to work on the script for five years.

When Tomnay got financing for the project, the next challenge was to find an actor for the lead. "With little money to offer an actor," he said, "and a character that does some pretty extreme things, the role of Warwick was not an easy one to cast. Luckily, David Hyde Pierce was willing to take a risk."

In the fall of 2008, Tomnay came to LA to make The Perfect Host, his first feature. He shot the film in only three weeks, but then spent most of 2009 in an editing room in New York. "Had I not played the film over and over again in my head during the writing process," he said, "The Perfect Host would be a very different film."

So what kind of film is it?  A thriller, sprinkled with just enough humor, which uses a game of chess as a recurring motif. But, the players involved in this game stand to lose a lot more than their king.

© 2011, Leo Sopicki.   Living and writing in Los Angeles, Leo Sopicki, aka Leo of Mars, brings a unqiue perspective to film industry news and reviews: that of a conservative screenwriter.   See more of Leo's writings at blogcritics.org.