Solace was initially supposed to be a sequel to Se7en but somewhere in development, it became a standalone thriller by director Afonso Poyart (commentary included). Here, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s FBI Agent Merriweather and his partner Agent Cowles (Abbie Cornish) find themselves in too deep with a strange set of murders, so they turn to Merriweather’s old partner, John Clancy (Anthony Hopkins). Setting out to kill (and avoid the FBI) is the nefarious Charles Ambrose (Colin Farrell), who most agents believe is responsible for the death of Clancy’s daughter two years before.
While the film isn’t terribly nuanced, it’s tense enough, and clever enough, to hold the audience’s attention. Unfortunately, it also involves psychic readings and supernatural overtones that aren’t uniformly applied, making it somewhat uneven in tone and direction. Honestly, substitute lesser actors for Hopkins, Morgan, and Farrell, and we’re probably looking at direct-to-Netflix. But those three keep us engaged.
For those who want more of the film after it’s wrapped, there’s a making of featurette, “Visions and Voices.” Whether you watch it or not, getting through the final twist will certainly change the dimensions of how you view good, evil, and the choices we make. Let’s just say that every action causes reactions, because none of them happens in a vacuum.
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