I was very much against UNDERTOW when I first saw it in theaters back in 2004, thinking that director David Gordon Green's flares of lyricism don't mesh well with the cat and mouse cross-country chase plot of the film. While that is still true and is ultimately the film's fatal flaw, I was able to recognize more of the film strengths while watching it again recently on Reel 13, particularly as it pertains to the performance of Dermot Mulroney. I do not remember being impressed with him, but upon rewatching it, I found him to be extremely subtle and grounded – a gratifying emotional center of the story. Unfortunately for both me and the film, the lion's share of the screen time goes to the growling, scenery-chewing Josh Lucas (supposedly, at one point, he was a serious dramatic theater actor in plays like Terence McNally's "Corpus Christi" – what happened???!?).
On the whole, the stylistic elements that Green incorporates in the film – freeze frames, zooms, using the interpositive and internegative prints – don't seem to be motivated by anything in particular. It just seems like a director trying to mix things up. Green is at his best when he doesn't try so hard. There is a wonderful scene in which he dissolves between dolly shots of Mulroney sitting in a chair and Jamie Bell crafting a wooden airplane in the garage for his brother's birthday (normally I don't like dissolves, but with the slow motion of the camera and the haunting music, Green makes it a thing of beauty). Overall, the first hour of the film is pretty solid – deliberately paced and moody – very similar to previous Green efforts GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS (an exception is the annoying opening title sequence). After the catalytic event midway through the film, however, Green's usual style no longer seems to apply and the tricks I refer to above are just that – smoke and mirrors. Nothing seems to fit anymore. Lucas' overacting and the high stakes plot seems like it's in a different film than Green's poetic imagery or the slow, ethereal (and much too loud) Philip Glass score. As a result, the second half of the film – when the "action" begins - feels false, forced and was utterly unenjoyable to watch.
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