Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Wildly uneven acting and directing seemingly presumes that the movie audience has already had their own 'transorbital' lobotomies before witnessing this cranial-comedic mess!Michelle Williams ("The Baxter") continues as 'indie princess' in another film that's beneath her talents as an actress. Why Hollywood has failed to discover her we'll never know but if she keeps making movies like this one she may never get found.First-time writer-director Richard Ledes fails in both departments and somehow manages to make even the usually reliable 'Meat Loaf' turn in a substandard, way over-the-top performance.Beware this one and fans of the actors should wait for the DVD which probably won't be long in coming ... you've been warned!

The film uses real events, including grainy footage, to flesh out the environment of the main characters, but there are also hypnotic, color-saturated views of breaking waves. All the visual elements work together to pull us forward - the tones and textures are rich and absorbing. At the same time, the story moves ahead in a confusion of scary and strange images contrasted with that hard sheen of normalcy associated with the 50's. We come to know the characters slowly and the film is a continual discovery. Many of the images strike a deep chord, though it may not be immediately apparent why. I would like to compare "A Hole in One" to some of Yeats' best poetry. Over time, the pictures and words come washing back and new meanings may take form alongside the first reading. In a similar way, the film is firmly rooted in its time frame, and yet speaks to a contemporary audience on many levels. The actors' performances do the writing full justice.