A man named Joseph Fable has several problems. First, he thinks that his girlfriend Liz, who kind of broke up with him, is having an affair with a psychiatrist that they both are seeing professionally. Second, Liz is also privy to a troubling secret that Joseph told her and she's apparently telling other people about it. To add to that, Joseph's dog has been missing for a week, plus people where he works are passing a memo around about him and talking about him behind his back. Finally, if all that isn't bad enough, there is a creature, maybe more than one, that seems to be stalking him. Oh, by the way, Joseph may be imagining all this, meaning that it's possible none of the above is true and he's simply a paranoid jerk.

That's the unusual plotline of FABLED by writer/director/editor Ari Kirschenbaum. This is the kind of movie that will cause a great deal of division among audiences and critics, because it leaves a lot for the viewers to figure out on their own. Personally, I don't mind that. In fact, I kind of like it when movies leave some stones unturned and make the viewer draw his or her own conclusions. But here I'm not so sure the process is completely successful. Now if you read the IMDB, you'll find a deluge of positive reviews. Are they mostly from the cast and crew or their friends? I don't know. But I would be shocked if you can find any five people that feel exactly the same, positively or negatively, about Kirschenbaum's work here. This piece is too weird, too slow-paced, and too much like a private joke among buddies to satisfy or turn off the majority of any viewing audience.

This isn't a bad project visually. Kirschenbaum and cinematographer Yaron Orbach shoot some cool looking scenes, which would heighten the tension, if only the casual pacing of the story didn't diffuse it so much. There are some good ideas. For example, during different parts of the movie, the voice of a ten year old girl recites an allegorical tale of a big black wolf that is hoodwinked by a mean-spirited crow. At first I found it distracting but later I ended up liking it. Tying the two plots together is actually a nice move on the writer/director's part. Too bad that eventually the wolf's tale becomes more interesting than the outcome of Kirschenbaum's story about Joseph. By midway through the movie, I actually found myself anxiously waiting to hear more about the wolf and crow than anything else. At that point I was losing interest in what Joseph was going to do next. Still, one thing I couldn't help but wonder is if Joseph is supposed to be the wolf or crow? Fortunately, that question is somewhat answered, I think, near the end of the movie. As I said before, a lot is left for the viewer's individual interpretation. Something that is intriguing, or should be, is the unraveling of Joseph's sanity and the mystery behind how many of the events he's witnessing are real or imagined. But here again, the pacing rather diminishes the crisis and there isn't a strong enough sense of dread until the third act. Last but not least, there is a plot twist near the end of the movie that involves Liz but it ends up being a too-little-too-late dynamic.

The acting is definitely worth mentioning. The supporting cast, particularly Michael Panes as Doctor Roy Frumkes, is quite good. My favorite dialogue exchanges were between Frumkes and Joseph, especially during one moment late in the story where the pacing finally begins to truly pick up. However, Desmond Askew's performance as Joseph is on and off throughout the picture. There are times when he makes Joseph compelling, what with his panicky portrayal of the guy's psychological ambiguities and the utter frustration he feels regarding the pitfalls in his life. But other times it seems as if Askew is playing surface results, causing him to lack the charisma needed to walk the viewer through a movie about his character's problems. Just my two cents, folks. I'm sure there are genre fans out there that would disagree with me, judging by some of the praise I've read and heard about the project.

Indican Pictures distributes a DVD disc with a fairly inventive menu design. It's not difficult to navigate or anything but the titles of the various subjects are in line with the theme of the movie and not what the viewer is used to seeing. The picture and sound quality are pretty good for this kind of low budget production. Extras include an audio commentary from some of the actors, a making-of featurette, some behind-the-scenes goodies, alternate and deleted scenes, a trailer, and some teasers for other Indican releases.

As for the movie itself, I honestly don't know what to say. It's possible that I didn't get it. If that's true, I won't be the only one. This is that kind of project, which is not necessarily a criticism. What I can say is that the slow pacing, Askew's spotty performance (in my view, anyway), and almost too guarded plot keeps me from recommending FABLED to genre fans.