Frailty

Bill Paxton, 2001

IMDB

3/5

Bill Paxton is an actor who wouldn't make a good straight up villain because of his charm / likeability factor. That is why his "Dad Meiks" character succeeds in this 2001 directorial debut (screenplay by by Brent Hanley) by Paxton.

Almost immediately you like the Dad character. Hard-working, eats dinner with his boys every night and warmly sends them off to bed before retiring himself. It's when he is awoken by a vision that it all changes. He tells his boys how God will be making a kill list for him, demons that he must rid the world of. Your suspicion of Dad grows, and you find yourself finding a certain comfort in Fenton's character, who is seemingly the only sane character left. His impressionable younger brother Adam is going to do anything his father wishes so there's virtually no hope for him to snap out of it.

What transpires is a dark southern gothic story with some real twists. The way that the film shifts your vision of who is good and bad is impressively executed. It's a good opportunity to see some of McConaughey's early acting chops which are evident in the film. He's kind of in his wheelhouse as the Texas-based drifter type that mutters slowly and thought-out. But overall it's a unique film that grabs you, and there's definitely some black comedy elements at work even if they are a bit buried beneath the surface. Paxton is really so perfect for the role as the eccentric father who really feels like he's God hand and doing something important. A straight up scary guy would never work. And it's his ability to be the benign father early on and get you invested in him as the good guy that is the springboard for all of the alternating that continues throughout the film.

Straight A's

James Cox, 2013


2/5

Black sheep Scott (Ryan Phillippe) arrives on horseback to his wealthy brother's house to try to make amends after having a vision of his deceased mother telling him to do so. Old tension resurfaces, mainly due to the fact that Scott's brother William (Luke Wilson) is now married to Scott's high school sweetheart Katherine (Anna Paquin).

Like so many of the romantic dramedies that get churned out these days, Straight A's attempts to run on bad writing combined with run-of-the-mill acting. The final product feels unpredictable and uninspired, and director Cox (Wonderland) and writer David Cole are to blame. In the end they make a film that is bearable but unadorned. Ryan Phillippe pulls off a good southern accent, one of the few redeeming qualities of the film. Wilson and Paquin clearly didn't have a lot to work with, and they fall flat here. Anna Paquin's stone-faced performance feels one-dimensional and she's yet to shine outside of the Sookie Stackhouse comfort zone. There's one point in the film where she blows up, showing that she can cover both sides of the emotional spectrum but nothing in between. The mature son who wears the suit all of the time feels like a direct rip-off of Augusten Burrough's character in Running with Scissors but without any of the charm. Powers Boothe is in what almost feels like a throw-away role, and somehow Cox even made him seem dull. The only really good acting in the film was provided by Gracie (Ursula Parker), who some will recognize from the television series Louie. The dialogue is completely elementary, and the story is even more predictable. The transitions feel forced, and lack any kind of organic feel. The "surprise" twist in the end really feels like they needed to quickly tie up loose ends so they wouldn't be late for lunch that day. In this world of over-used premises and other rom-com low-hanging fruit, this film gets lost in the forgettable crowd.