There's an awful lot to love about Travis Wood and Alex Mallis' The Travel Companion, though there's not nearly as much to love about its central figure, Simon (Tristan Turner), a wannabe filmmaker semi-enjoying the exhaust fumes of his festival journey with his thesis project yet strapped creatively in his stated desire to move on with his next project. He has a day gig that offers a creative outlet only in the most mind-numbing of ways, serving up promo spots for a taxi company, but his efforts to turn his regular jaunts into something resembling usable footage are largely unsuccessful.

Those jaunts come courtesy of longtime bestie and housemate Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck), an airline employee with the enviable perk of being able to assign a "travel companion" annually who's able to enjoy free flights on standby. Simon is and has been that travel companion, a perk that allows him to visit film festivals worldwide while shooting footage that has mostly gone nowhere. 

The Travel Companion had its world premiere at Tribeca, and it also screened at my hometown Heartland International Film Festival along with several other festivals along its journey that led to being picked up by indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories. The film itself is immensely engaging even if Simon is one of those film festival lads who leaves you rolling your eyes and looking for an escape. 

Simon faces an unforeseen obstacle when Bruce begins dating Beatrice (Naomi Asa), a fellow filmmaker whose career trajectory is markedly more upward than is Simon's. Faced not only with cinematic competition but also a threat to his "travel companion" status, Simon's already inner turmoil becomes even more tumultuous and self-sabotaging. 

A refreshingly honest and insightful film written by Mallis and Wood alongside Weston Auburn, The Travel Companion is a frequently funny endeavor even if much of that humor is of the cringeworthy variety and at the expense of Simon. Simon reminds me an awful lot of a filmmaker whose work I once designated an incredibly rare 0-star rating who nonetheless remained utterly convinced of the film's brilliance. 

He was wrong. 

It's a mighty testament to the talent of Wood and Mallis that we stay so invested in a character whom we likely wouldn't give five minutes to in person. Tristan Turner does a tremendous job as Simon, engaging us even when we tire of his narcissistic antics. Anthony Oberbeck is wonderful as Bruce, subtly shifting throughout the film's 91-minute running time. Naomi Asa also impresses as Beatrice and, of course, it's always a joy to see Joanna Arnow. 

There's a hint toward redemption , though it's wisely ambiguous and best left that way. It's a ballsy statement to rest the laurels of your first feature in the hands of an immensely flawed yet still compelling character, but Wood and Mallis do so quite successfully and it'll be interesting to watch where their careers go from here. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic