On a budget of $7000, director James Ryan Gielen and his company, Brownpenny Films, have created a documentary that is as unpretentious and rough around the edges as its subject. Beautiful Thing is a stark, black-and-white look at the travels and trials of acoustic guitar genius Larry Keel during 2002. If you have ever met Larry, it is hard to imagine him as the impetus for this project, and by the time the show is over it becomes clear that Gielen was the brains behind the thing. Keel’s salty, hilltopping tunes are treated with the utmost respect and the viewer feels his vision throughout.
