Hollywood actress Moon Bloodgood|Hollywood celebrity Moon Bloodgood

Faster’s Vengeance Too Forgiving

Faster

Modern day film audiences have a tendency to frequently question events happening on screen. What is the significances of the scene in the bank? Why did the main character throw away the gun instead of getting more bullets? The problem with this is that directors often feel the need to jump the gun to provide answers to questions that no one was asking in the first place. A perfect example of this is the revenge film Faster.

The premise of director George Tillman Jr.’s film is simple and straight to the point. After being released from prison, a heist getaway driver (Dwayne Johnson) sets out to gun down the people who double-crossed him and killed his brother.

At the beginning, Faster seems to have all the makings of a great revenge flick. It sets up the story in the first ten minutes, the hero is provide with a cool car and the motivation to exact as much carnage as possible. Yet Faster makes one fatal mistake in its execution, it takes itself far too seriously as Tillman Jr. attempts to make the film deeper than it really should be. Sometimes a revenge flick just needs to be a revenge flick.

Faster is never content with being a simple revenge flick, is strives to be a tale about choices and forgiveness. Every single character in the film is struggling with the notion of pride and doing the right thing. As a result, the script is constantly providing the audience with background information for several characters that they could care less about. For example there is the turbulent relationship between two cops (Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Gugino) who are assigned to track down Johnson. The audience also learns a lot about Thornton’s connection with former flame Marina (Moon Bloodgood), who happens to be the mother of the son who he rarely sees. If that is not enough, Tillman Jr. also brings in the story of the killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who is hired to dispose of Johnson’s character, but cannot decide whether he should leave the criminal life behind and start a new one with his longtime girlfriend, Lily (Maggie Grace). Throw in Johnson’s own story and the film ends up being far more cluttered than it should be.

Dwayne Johnson has the charisma to carry a film like this, but his character is surprisingly neutered. His driver character should be a stone-cold killer yet, he is nothing more than a inherently good soul trying to be bad. He spends half the film contemplating how to be a righteous man. All of the soul searching in the film really takes the energy out of the picture. What should have been a fast paced action film ends up being an uneventful tale of redemption that takes itself far too seriously.

Beautiful Boy More Than Pretty Packaging

Beautiful Boy

Since the events at Columbine there has been plethora of films that have dealt with school shootings. The majority of these films have focused on either the victims or the shooter(s). Rarely do these pictures shed any light on the impact it has on their parents. This is one of the reasons why Shawn Ku’s debut feature, Beautiful Boy, is such a unique film.

Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate’s (Maria Bello) marriage is near the end of its rope. Kate is hopeful that a family vacation is what is needed to get them back on track. Bill, on the other hand, sees the situation as being beyond repair and starts to look into other housing arrangements. Bill and Kate’s relationship takes an unexpected turn when new breaks that there has been a shooting at their son’s school. Hearing that a shooting has occurred at their child’s school is scary enough, but nothing prepares the couple for the news that their eighteen-year-old son, Sam (Kyle Gallner) was not only the shooter; but took his own life when his shooting spree was over.

Beautiful Boy is an emotional look at how loss affects people in different ways. It is even tougher to deal with when it comes as a result of a public event. Bill and Kate where already isolated from each other emotionally and physically. After the shooting, they both found themselves being isolated from the public in general. The media is camped outside their home on a daily basis, and television personalities debate their lack of parenting skills. The general population, who get their information from the press, are quick to vilify them. There is a telling scene in the film where Bill goes to rent a motel room for him and his wife to hideout in and he encounters the owner (Meat Loaf) who is watching the news and verbally expressing his harsh thoughts about the parents...not realizing who Bill is actually standing in front of him. Even Kate’s brother (Alan Tudyk) and sister-in-law (Moon Bloodgood) start to argue over the impact that the couple is having on her own young son.

For a first film, Shawn Ku delivers a surprisingly effective and layered work. Ku is not afraid to take his characters deep into their grief. His script may appear simple on the surface but it offers much food for thought as the film progresses. Shawn Ku also has a wonderful understanding of what is needed to get the most out of his actors. Both Mario Bello and Michael Sheen deliver outstanding performances. While the film is too small to garner the Oscar buzz it rightfully deserves, their work in the film is award worthy nonetheless. Bello masterfully brings out her character’s mix of grief and quest for validation regarding her parenting skills. Sheen brings the right balance of anger and guilt to the role. At first he is the only one who is willing to look at his son’s actions as a crime; yet it is not long before Bill's own inner guilt, for not being there for his son when he was needed most, eventually consumes him.

Although the final act draws out a tad longer than is necessary, it does not take away from the film’s overall impact. Emotionally raw at times, Beautiful Boy does not shy away from the pain that both parents feel. Carried by astonishing performances and skilled direction, Beautiful Boy is one of the better works to come out this year.