STEPHENtheDIRECTOR Blog

First off, I didn't come out of the theater wanting my money back; that's for sure. If you go in, wanting an action thrill ride that will make you jump, scream, laugh, and possibly even cry then go see this movie. But that's all this turns out to be, is a big hollywood movie. There are so many great set ups in this film, without many great payoffs. I think this is one of the only times that I will say that I wished a hollywood blockbuster was longer. This film could have used about 20-30 more minutes of character and environmental development, of the other players that come into his world,  even of exposition of what in fact these vampire/zombie/infected human things were, and what the rules of that world were. The pacing breaks into a full sprint in the third act, that gives an inconsistency to the rest of the film. Most films would do better completely using subtext and making arguments for their characters based on preexisting knowledge. But I continually wished this film would give me more answers to my questions (aka: How can these things jump 20 feet in the air and rip holes through ceilings with their bare hands, but can't break out of leather bindings?), rather than trying to give me more reason to feel for Will Smiths character.

First off, I would like to say that in the "The Director would like to thank" credits of this film Terrence Mallick is thanked, proceeding directly to Jerry Bruckheimer....I never thought I'd see those two names together. :-)

But to more important things...This film astounded me. It is in the realm of Mystic River. It is a crime drama that actually questions what the true meaning of the crime is, and how human nature reacts. Except with this film it is just as enough of the audience reacting as it is the characters reacting to their surroundings. The story plays out beautifully. The acting is wonderful. And the director, no matter how self-conscious, never is self indulgent and serves the story so well, that not only every scene has purpose, but even every single shot helps foward the story. It is so well thought out, however, that it moves away from brilliance to more of a great example of the act of filmmaking. Casey Affleck deserves an Oscar for this, and older brother Ben at least deserves a nod. I think he finally found he belongs behind the camera instead of in front of it, and I would have to agree. 

All this being said, this film is one of the best of the year. It's real, it's gritty, it's provacative, and it hands you such a powerful story that you are forced to look inside yourself and figure out why you wanted the things that normally happen in these types of films to happen here, and why it's so important to question that. 

I thought this film was a great adaptation of a true story. With a political suspense movie, I expected another cliche around every corner, but the film held my suspense, and the payoff was something worth watching. Chris Cooper gives an amazing performance, as well as Laura Linney. Ryan Phillippe, who I usually disslike as an actor, was perfectly cast in this role.