As a cantankerous old codger spitting and vinegaring outrage whilst wrestling dementia, Lance Henriksen is an incendiary tour de force. Award ready material, this. Turns out the crusty old coot has been cantankerously codgering all his despicable life. The illness may have lifted a filter, but it seems the nasty was there all along. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities to hang on to here, just that he lived a life, and others were involved. Harumph.
Sadly the victims of this patriarchal rage are all one dimensional, turning this into a black and white, him vs. them, wrong vs. right, lesson watch that is spelled out early on, and repeatedly hammered home for the duration.
Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut does reach for the moon, introducing heady topics, some juicy characters, and much hope for a moving movie. As the much berated son of an old fashioned gun-toting 'merican, Viggo writes himself into a homosexual relationship with a tattooed Asian nurse. Wow. Let the fireworks begin! Sadly, they do not. Just a one way vile spew from the old man, with nothing but sad, all-knowing, head-shaking looks from the other side. The surrounding, extended family seem perfect, totally supportive of each other, and doing their goldarned best of the situation. They don't seem to have any problems or issues of their own. Everything and everyone in this movie exists solely as a reaction to the old man. And worst of all, they are boring. How can this be? It looks good. The performances are fine. The story has plenty of opportunity to get rolling. But apart from one spark of a fiery scene that quickly fizzles, it just sits there, stuck in neutral.
There's character study, and then there's missed opportunity. Viggo is a smart dude, and he's sure to figure this director-writer thing out. Till next time.
Sadly the victims of this patriarchal rage are all one dimensional, turning this into a black and white, him vs. them, wrong vs. right, lesson watch that is spelled out early on, and repeatedly hammered home for the duration.
Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut does reach for the moon, introducing heady topics, some juicy characters, and much hope for a moving movie. As the much berated son of an old fashioned gun-toting 'merican, Viggo writes himself into a homosexual relationship with a tattooed Asian nurse. Wow. Let the fireworks begin! Sadly, they do not. Just a one way vile spew from the old man, with nothing but sad, all-knowing, head-shaking looks from the other side. The surrounding, extended family seem perfect, totally supportive of each other, and doing their goldarned best of the situation. They don't seem to have any problems or issues of their own. Everything and everyone in this movie exists solely as a reaction to the old man. And worst of all, they are boring. How can this be? It looks good. The performances are fine. The story has plenty of opportunity to get rolling. But apart from one spark of a fiery scene that quickly fizzles, it just sits there, stuck in neutral.
There's character study, and then there's missed opportunity. Viggo is a smart dude, and he's sure to figure this director-writer thing out. Till next time.
- hipCRANK