ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Crime

@Sundance: First Date

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Sundance offers the chance for many first-time filmmakers to share their films. First Date is the premier feature film from directors Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp. It is a film that doesn’t fit nicely into any single genre, rather it mixes several together. The results sometimes work, but not always.

Mike, a somewhat shy high schooler, finally works up the courage (with some help from his friend) to ask out his heartthrob neighbor, Kelsey. She is also the target of a local jock with a great car. Mike, sadly, has no car, so for the date he gets conned into buying a junker ’66 Chrysler. It turns out, there are a lot of people interested in that car, including a pair of sheriff deputies, a crazy cat lady, and a band of bickering criminals/book club members. The problems prevent him from picking up Kelsey, who ends up going for a drive with the jock. When Mike and Kelsey finally do get together, their mutual attraction begins to come through, but then more problems with all of the bad guys cranks up the story again.

Tyson Brown and Shelby Duclos appear in First Date by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

In press notes, the directors liken the film to “Kinda like mixing all the different sodas at the soda fountain. You’re not supposed to do it but damn, it’s a sugar rush.” I found that a very apt analogy. We can easily see some of the influences they want to add to the mix. The group of crooks have the same kind of incompetence we remember from Fargo. There is a body count that would fit into a Tarantino film. There’s the romance developing between Mike and Kelsey. There are some car chases.

I think it should be noted that there is a difference between mixing all the sodas, and the blending that happens to make a fine wine. The results of soda mixing may be enjoyable to a point, but it will ultimately never be quite as enjoyable as something crafted with a clear goal in mind.

There are parts of this story that work very well—especially the scenes where Mike and Kelsey got to talk to each other. The writing in those scenes show a good feel for the early stage of a relationship—of two people who like each other, but aren’t sure where it’s going. Scenes where the bad guys bicker aren’t quite at the same level, but still the dialogue and relationships are entertaining.

The crime/action part of the film doesn’t show the same level of craft, perhaps in part because this part seems so outlandish. Toning down some of the violence would have benefitted the overall film. When the action part of the film takes over, the interesting relationships that have been developed get pushed into the background.

One of the good things about festivals giving opportunities to new filmmakers is that it gives them a chance to try things out. They get to try mixing the sodas. Maybe they’ll discover the flavors that do or don’t work together, and build from there.

The Traitor: What is Honor?

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“I was and remain a man of honor.”

Tommaso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino) claimed to be an honorable man. But what he meant by that may mean something different than you think. The Traitor is the story of how in the 1980s, he (and some others) began to bring down the Cosa Nostra (aka Sicilian Mafia).

As that time the Cosa Nostra was controlling the world heroin trade. As the film opens, Buscetta is attending a summit of the Palermo and Corleone clans to divide up the business. They establish a tentative peace, which turns out to be short-lived. Buscetta (who is a prison escapee) has set up a life in Brazil with a new wife. He lives well there. But when the gang war reignites, resulting in the death of his two sons of a previous marriage, some want him to return and take revenge. He is reluctant, but soon the Brazilian authorities arrest him, torture him (and his family), and extradite him back to Italy.

He returns to Italy volunteering to talk to Judge Giovanni Falcone, a prosecuting magistrate, about the Cosa Nostra, but not planning to be an informer. But as he and Falcone establish respect and rapport, Buschetta becomes the key evidence leading to hundreds of arrests and a massive trial. Buschetta is villainized in Sicily—even by his old family. But his new family is settled into witness protection in the US.

Early on in his discussion with Falcone, he defines “honorable man”. That is the term that the soldiers in the Cosa Nostra use for themselves. But Buschetta sees it as more than that. For him it harkens back to the values espoused by the Cosa Nostra when he became affiliated. Those values are explained in a story of early on, he was told to kill a particular person. That person saw Buschetta and knew what was to happen, but he grabbed his baby. Buschetta would not kill him with his child nearby. That would be wrong. So he waited while the boy grew.

At two and a half hours, this film takes its time in an attempt to provide an overall look at Buscetti’s life and his decision to inform on those with whom he had served. Yet in covering so much, it makes it hard to explore the more intimate bits of the story, such as the developing relationship between Buschetta and Falcone and how that relationship shaped Buschetta and his opinion of what he was doing.

And most of all, the film needs a bit more attention to the meaning of the honor that Buschetta saw himself as embodying. As a “man of honor” within the Cosa Nostra, his honor was a sort of twisted sense of values. To be sure, the Cosa Nostra took care of their community in a certain sense, but that concern was less than honorable by most standards of morality. But when Bruscetta becomes an informer and serves as a witness against former allies, perhaps he has discovered a new sense of honor. That exploration could have added some heft to a story that wants so say something about truth and honor.

The Traitor is available on VOD and DVD.

Destroyer: Into the Darkness

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Destroyer tells the story of Detective Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman), an LAPD officer who, in her youth, went undercover to infiltrate a gang in the desolation of the California desert. Traumatized by the experience, Bell presently continues to work as a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department despite her overwhelming guilt. However, when the leader of that gang suddenly resurfaces, Erin embarks on a mission to find his former associates, bring him to justice while coming face to face with her past life.

Directed by Karen Karusama, Destroyer is a slow burn of a thriller, equally compelling and vexing. By boldly breaking down her narrative structure, Karusama creates an plays with the past in a way that informs the present. While this can prove frustrating at first, the film gradually unravels in a way that validates her approach. As Detective Bell, Kidman is virtually unrecognizable, fully immersing herself into the seedy underbelly of a bleak and hopeless environment. Known for her dramatic flair, it is this role that reveals her true range as an actress as she plays Bell with a surprising but desolate fury. In what could be a potentially career-defining role, this is Kidman at her very best and wildest.

Stepping into the darkness of the bleak Los Angeles heat, Destroyer highlights a world where evil marks everything in its path. Criminals can’t escape their past, even if they want to. The integrity of the police is flexible. In a world overrun by shadows, no one is safe from the stain of sin. Struggling to get through each day, Bell becomes the very picture of brokenness as she allows the demons of her past to unleash her inner demons. Unlike other characters who fight to free to themselves from their past, Bell has allowed herself to be completely swallowed by it. While her intentions start out well, she is slowly contaminated by her environment. As she descends into the underworld, the lines between good and evil become blurred and Bell’s judgment is compromised irreparably. Even in the present, Bell bears the scars of her past in ways that prevent her from escaping it. Despite the fact that she’s gotten out, she has never truly broken free.

Admittedly, hope in this world is hard to find. Interestingly, there is a glimmer of possibility through the eyes of Bell’s daughter, Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn). Even if she too is feeling the pull towards the darkness, Bell’s most redeeming quality is that she hopes her daughter “will be [a] better [person] than she is”. Through the character of Shelby, Karusama allows the viewer to believe that—maybe—there is a chance to break the cycle of pain and suffering in the future. Despite the bleak atmosphere, Shelby represents the opportunity to move forward and escape, provided she can learn from her mother’s mistakes

Playing out as an intense hybrid of Chinatown and Breaking Bad, Destroyer unleashes a world where everyone is tainted by culture’s pervasive evil. Buoyed by powerful performances and confident direction, the film gives itself the freedom to unfurl its narrative with boiling intensity.

Destroyer is in theatres now.

TIFF17: 1%

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Set in a world of motorcycle gangs, violence and crime, 1% brings us a character driven tale of loyalty, family, betrayal, and personal struggle.  This unconventional crime genre film never actually shows us the criminal activity the Copperheads Motorcycle Club is involved in, though we know that they are raking in a profit that must be concealed.  Taking notes from numerous Shakespearean tragedies, this drama is both shocking, destructive, and fateful.

Through its use of cinematography, director Stephen McCallum gives us a unique perspective by allowing the camera to act as another person in the room.  Moving unconventionally, the camera is not always steady and, as a result, give us a more documentary-like feel.

Although this is a character driven film, we don’t always get a complete background on certain characters, which adds an element of mystery to a cast of multi-dimensional characters.  It’s almost as if the writer (Matt Nable) is trying to teach us a different existential lesson with each individual character.

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Knuck (Matt Nable) is the quintessential motorcycle club president. He is an angry, violent, and gritty character who takes no non-sense from anyone. Knuck feels as though his authority has been threatened during his absence in jail.  While also dealing with the new struggle with his sexuality, his conflicting emotions manifest themselves in a violent manner. Knuck shows us the difficulty and even shame and embarrassment that can come along with hiding a part of yourself and not feeling as though you will be accepted in your social circle.

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Paddo (Ryan Corr) has a deep and violent past and is largely involved in Copperheads as vice president. However, we also see an extremely loving side of him in his relationship with his girlfriend, Katrina (Abbey Lee), and his brother, Skink (Josh McConville), who is another member of Copperheads and has a developmental delay. Paddo lives to take care of the people he loves most. He poses the question of ‘how far are you willing to go to save your family’?

During Knuck’s stay in prison, Paddo steps in as acting president of Copperheads and attempts to take the club in a different direction, causing tension upon Knuck’s return. Paddo and Katrina both play an intricate game of chess in their desire to control the club and how they should handle Knuck’s return and ultimate disinterest in their plan. Katrina, specifically, is always striving to secure her stake in the club. She is always looking forward and ensuring that every move she makes (or Paddo makes) will take them one step closer to their end goal.

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Katrina, as well as Knuck’s wife, Hayley (Simone Kessell), are both very strong female characters that are almost the brains behind their boys. In a male dominated club, these females could easily have been lost in the story. Instead, there was significant intention behind the placement of these women, and a spotlight placed on them.

This film, although unconventional in its genre, is very smart and intentional. Writer, Matt Nable, and director, Stephen McCallum, knew what they wanted to say and executed it well. A cast of incredible actors rounded out this vision.

My recommendation for this movie is not to go into it with a violent action movie mindset. Be prepared to think, absorb, and be driven by the complex emotional turmoil.

 

To stream audio of my interview with Ryan Cord and Abbey Lee, click here.

To stream audio of my interview with Matt Nable and Stephen McCallum, click here.