Tensions run high when a young female architect moves to a small but uniquely-built rural town and unwittingly falls in love with the son of the man responsible for the town's misfortune.
ALL HALE is an ensemble feature film focusing on the bright doe-eyed architect Alice and her relationships as she builds a new home in the rural South for the struggling blended family the Parkers - directionless but proud Uncle Patrice, sweet-natured but closeted daughter Ruth, and strong but unavailable mother Charlotte - while falling for her only local peer Mason, the son of the man secretly responsible for the Parkers misfortune. Inspired by architectural design-build initiatives, this independent feature by Genuine Rockprov Productions was shot on location in Hale County, Alabama with the vivid and striking local architecture as it's backdrop.—Vajra Hodges
Set in rural Hale County, Alabama, a place of verdant beauty but unprecedented destitution, ALL HALE tells a visually striking tale of how surprising it is to discover ones identity through anothers eyes. We follow Alice (Mary Katherine Rowe), a bold and exotic looking architecture student, while she participates in her universitys design-build program utilizing found and donated materials. Alice is assigned to build unique sustainable home for a local black family and their story quickly captures her attention as she gains trust into their lives.
The family, mother Charlotte and daughter Ruth (Veronica Ilenre), was in recent years rocked by the death of the father, Patterson, who was a manager at the county-dominating plantation called Morgan Agriculture. After Pattersons death, his brother Patrice (Rob Morgan) swooped in to take care of his family, although Patrice began a downward spiral as plantation mechanization caused widespread permanent layoffs throughout the county. Left bruised and prideless, Patrice qualifies his family for the university program and begins construction on a new home with Alice. As Alice gets to know Patrices family she develops a bond with the daughter Ruth, a rotund and nerdy middle schooler, and discovers that Ruth is in desperate need of solid female guidance. Charlotte, her mother, is consistently unavailable ever since she became the sole breadwinner in the family.
In her private time, she falls for Mason (Stuart Campbell), the only other university educated person in town who is not part of her program. She discovers that he is in fact locally raised and is the son of the owner of Morgan Agriculture, the man who caused the countys joblessness. While Alice fiercely despises the figure that Masons father is in the community, she finds that Mason is entirely different. He is thoughtful, kind, loving, and intelligent, not to mention he serves as Alices passport to all of the local inner-workings and gossip.
Alice counsels Ruth through her journey of self discovery in the world of lockers and mean girls, where we find that Ruth has affections for her female classmate Nika and is constantly being dogged for it by bully Sheila LaRue. While Alice monitors Ruths social development, Patrice begins to feel that his space as a man has become violated by this seemingly noble outside source. He expresses his distrust for Alice as they together to complete his university funded house project, and continues to hate on himself by drowning his sorrows in booze and women. Ultimately, Mason helps Alice to cut through Patrices distrust for her and discovers that there is much more to Pattersons untimely death and the displacement of the countys plantation workers than shows on the surface. Through facilitating these discoveries, Alice learns deeply about herself and her sense of belonging.
