Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece
Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
powmanx this movie overall was a great movie,, but there is story line I feel like no one really caught but I could just be going crazy. spoilers start here. what I really believe the story actually is is that the wife faked the whole thing. I believe she drugged her husband, and put make up on to appear like she'd been beaten. she took his ring and put some on his hands. in the beginning, look how ready she was to come back home. her husband said he couldn't find his ring, and she had it the whole time. look how willing she was to let him come back for intensive chores like remodeling her house and landscaping the yard. she stated in the middle of the movie that he will just have to make it up to her every day for the rest of their lives. She wanted a relationship where she was pampered and treated like a queen. she wanted to go to a restaurant that all their friends went to so she could gain that much more power over the situation. it's ironic that the brother hired someone to kill his brother in law when it was his sisters faking. I thought it was very strange how willing, how passive the husband was. in the end when the husband was killed, it looked as if she was remorseful also because she finally had what she wanted from her marriage. this makes more sense to me than simply her husband actually beating her and the story going from there. does anyone else feel this way ?
zif ofoz Kenny Wormald as Gordon carries this movie from start to finish. He shines in his role as the confused, spirit broken, son of Angella, brother of Molly, and trapped future-less stock clerk at a local grocery store.Gordon feels defeated by his mother constantly pecking at him and belittling him. Gordon wants to stand up to his abusive brother-in-law but lacks the will and the drive. His mother fails to realize she has destroyed her son. Molly (his sister) and wife to Teddy only stands up for herself when pushed into a corner as shown by how her husband Teddy beat her and then Molly fights back. But she cannot stay away from Teddy at her mother's house because she see's her mother as more abusive psychologically than Teddy's physical abuse.Fran Kranz as the husband Teddy is very smooth and likable in this role as he charmingly worms his way back into Molly's trust only to have Molly reject him again and again. BUT pay attention to the kitchen scene near the end of the movie! His true character is coming out when he gets Molly to 'get' something for him. And she does! She is now back into his control.Chris Mulkey as Howard is one spooky dude! A terrible creature and Gordon doesn't realize this until it's too late and he then knows he's in over his head. Howard has complete control of him. The finest scene is in the restaurant conversation between Howard and Gordon .... it is here that Gordon actually gets Howard to philosophically question himself and his life. But he too is in over his head with his past life and he cannot escape it, his ship is sinking and he might as well go down with it. On the other hand Gordon must find a way off this sinking ship.This film is perfect from start to finish! Bravo's to writer/director Jack Bryan and the entire cast. A must see film!
Stephen Steinbacher I first met writer/director Jack Bryan at the Tallgrass Film Festival during a showing of Yojimbo. I ended up seeing his film "The Living" when it premiered that weekend. I was excited to see it, Jack seemed like a cool guy and I love Fran Kranz, but I had no idea I was in for such a treat. I'm not really sure if treat is the right word to use, this film is a lot of things, but it might be a little too dark to be considered a treat. The performances, writing, direction, and production design are all flawless. The story follows Teddy, an alcoholic that wakes up one morning after blacking out to discover that he had beat his wife. Fran Kranz plays as Teddy and gives the best performance of his career. Cast as the comedic relief in Cabin in the Woods and Dollhouse, it was refreshing to see him playing a serious role. Somehow, he's able to make a character that you're inclined to hate from the start lovable. While his brother in law is on a quest to hire a hit-man to kill him, Teddy is doing everything he can to make things up to his wife. Chris Mulkey plays as the hit-man and does an excellent job at being horrifying. Killing is something that comes casually to him. The rest of the cast put in excellent performances as well. If the movie comes to your area, it's more than worth the price of admission.
nrsmith85 I saw this film at the Tallgrass Film Festival, and it was excellent. Jack Bryan really knows how to write a compelling tale, and the film ends in a way that Hollywood could never deliver. There's a well-established sense of the world that the characters inhabit, and it never feels like a low-budget production. There are several long dialog takes that are thoroughly impressive performances. It's good to see Fran Kranz in a serious role, as he totally sells the character. Hopefully this acts as a showcase for more dramatic projects. I was unfamiliar with Jocelin Donahue, but will definitely keep an eye out for her in other films. Chris Mulkey is a beast, and absolutely kills it. The people involved in making this movie are clearly talented and passionate individuals, and I can't wait to see what they bring to the table next.
