Family tensions plus a murder

First-time writer-director Mark Wilkinson’s “Dischord” cuts to the heart of the painful dilemma of married musicians whose intertwined professional and personal relationship is tested by the husband’s feelings of inadequacy in the face of his wife’s acclaimed genius. In the midst of this already tense situation the husband’s troubled younger brother shows up after a 12-year absence.

This premise is ripe with possibilities, but in an apparent -- and definitely misguided -- attempt to make his movie more commercial, Wilkinson has made the younger brother a murderer on the run. The subplot centers on the fugitive from justice, crazed due to a family tragedy in his adolescence, and involves a police detective roused from retirement to track down the killer of a young woman whose corpse turns up on a Cape Cod beach. That the two plots will eventually converge is predictably inevitable.

When Wilkinson concentrates on his edgy trio, he is on to something that holds the viewer’s attention. Lucian (Andrew Borba) is a New Age-ish composer who discovered and fell in love with Gypsy (Annunziata Gianzero), who has swiftly emerged as an alternative rock violin virtuoso. Lucian desperately wants to prove himself on his own, and his loving wife’s understanding of this, coupled with an incident of crass promotion of her talent, causes her to cancel a solo recording session and an imminent tour. She means to be supportive by renouncing her career, but perhaps if she weren’t home all the time her husband actually would be less distracted from his challenge. His distraction is greatly intensified by the arrival of Jimmy (Thomas Jay Ryan), Lucian’s sensitive -- and vastly troubled -- half-brother.

Wilkinson is very good at capturing the seesawing tensions and emotions among these three individuals -- Lucian, articulate and sometimes arrogant; Gypsy, poetic, reflective and innately serene; Jimmy, needling but needy -- and at drawing impassioned portrayals from his cast. But making Jimmy crazed -- instead of just unsettled or nursing long-standing issues with Julian -- was a waste. The time spent on a by-the-numbers police procedural subplot would have been better used to further develop Wilkinson’s three principals. And the resulting film would have been shorter. However, he was fortunate in having a seasoned pro in silver-haired Dick Bakalyan, who is crisp and engaging, as the intrepid retired cop. Also on hand is Rick Wessler, game but stuck in the impossible role as a conveniently mystical beachcomber.

Wilkinson’s atmospheric use of music and striking Cape Cod locales are a plus, and if he is at times arty and self-conscious, he shows promise as a deep-digging and personal filmmaker.

*

‘Dischord’

MPAA rating: unrated

Times guidelines: violence, nudity, adult themes

Thomas Jay Ryan...Jimmy

Annunziata Gianzero...Gypsy

Dick Bakalyan...Det. John Dunbarton

Andrew Borba...Lucian

Rick Wessler...The Beachcomber

An Artistic License release. Writer-director-producer-editor Mark Wilkinson. Cinematographer Ernest Kubitza. Music John McCarthy. Gypsy/Lucian theme created by Petr Stverka. Costumes Dane Peterson, Hana Rausalova, Maria Sparagna. Production designers Natacha Alpert and Erica Switzer. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Exclusively at the Fairfax Cinemas, Beverly Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, (323) 665-4010.