FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Hank works as a Corrections Officer just as his father did and just as his son does. But the career isn’t the only thing that’s been passed down through the generations. There’s also a legacy of hardness and abuse. This is a legacy that leads the “weak” Sonny to kill himself. Leticia works as a waitress. Her husband was sentenced to death and executed by the state (at Hank’s hand). She can’t afford rent or desperately needed car repairs. When these two paths of turmoil cross, the winds of change could produce a devastating tornado.

Sorry about the stupid imagery and obvious metaphors, but I figure if the film thinks it can get away with it, then so can I. Ya know, the movie was going along fine (not superbly or amazingly, but fine) until those stupid little shots of the birdcage pops in. Marc Forster’s direction was edging on pretentious as it stood. This was just icing on the cake. The editing of that particular scene was too frantic for it’s own good as well. Jump cuts in that situation are fine (again, only fine), but the rapidity in which they occur made the scene more disjointed than it should have been.

I’m not sure if it’s the script (by first timers Milo Addica and Will Rokos) or just the acting – probably both – but the whole thing didn’t seem all that believable to me. Hank’s (Billy Bob Thornton) character development is contingent on him being such a horrid person during the first half or so. He did some terrible things to be sure, but it always appeared like his father drove him to that. I never got the sense that he was the evil person that was spelled out for us. So, as such, his character never really made much of an impact. The rest of the characters were rather stiff, too. Heath Ledger (Sonny) needs to pick an accent. Peter Boyle (Hank’s dad) drives the story somewhat, but it feels like his only real purpose is to make the audience hiss and boo. Sean Combs (Leticia’s death row husband) could not be drier. Halle Berry (Leticia) plays the grief card pretty well, but the performance shows little nuance or tact.

The story itself works. It’s functional and smooth. The pacing is good. However, the overall execution (no pun intended) makes any positives on the plot side of things ineffective. The whole film just left sort of a bad taste in my mouth. It was okay, but it probably should have been great. If the film dared to go farther and ask more questions and confront more issues, it would have been more satisfying. Nothing seemed to be accomplished, unfortunately. But hey. You get to see boobies.

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