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A disgruntled employee down at the plant — yes, it’s Three Mile Island — shorts out the grid, setting into motion a curious set of events in a small town. Todd Rohal’s ensemble film, which plays out elliptically over a few summer days, recalls the sun-drenched off-kilter Americana of David Lynch, as well as the deadpan quirkiness of Napoleon Dynamite: A demo-derby driver (Will Oldham) and a dog go missing; an electric car changes hands; people speak in non-sequiturs or from oddly located telephones. Yet that errant crackle from the plant appears to be just what this town of lost but lovable losers needs to jumpstart their lives. Beautifully filmed by former Pittsburgh Filmmakers instructor Richie Sherman, Handshake is that weird, wonderful Pennsylvania summer iconoclasts deserve. Mon., March 26, through Thu., March 29. Harris (AH) 
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2007.
