***/**** (3.5 stars)
DVD Release
Socially awkward and abused by
his alcoholic father, Andrew feels as though he’s finally been accepted when he
and two other boys develop strange powers after finding an unidentified object.
With so many super-power films to
choose from, and a never-ending line of heroes to cheer on, it’s refreshing to
come across a film that looks at the negative sides of these powers, and the
effect it can have on individuals, in this case a group of three young men. At
the heart of the story is Andrew (an excellent Dane DeHaan), a social outsider
with a troubled home life. As his powers develop, he grows in confidence and
starts to enjoy himself – he is the ultimate sympathetic character, given a
chance at redemption but thwarted by his age and emotions. Given that the main
characters are high-schoolers, their aims are based far more on their sexual
desires and immediate pressures as opposed to notions of saving the world,
which is indeed refreshing, and also darker than the Marvel outings we have
witnessed.
What lets the film down, and ultimately
prevents me from giving it a 4-star rating, is the overblown conclusion.
Whereas the rest of the film has been an intimate study of Andrew and his
relationship with his parents and his new friends, the conclusion is an overly
noisy, all-out destruction sequence in which all previous subtlety is erased in
favour of spectacle. Prior to this, we witness more unnerving moments in which
a spider is tortured, and Andrew stands up to his father, and I couldn’t help
but feel that the film could’ve been creepier had director Josh Trank kept the
drama low-key, a sort of kitchen sink story, as it were. Also, the whole
found-footage method has surely been worn thin by now – in some cases, it feels
appropriate here, with Andrew demonstrating his growing powers by moving the
camera independently, but the introduction of a female character, purely to provide
a second camera, is rather poor, and incredibly annoying.
What starts out as an interesting
and intimate character piece ultimately descends into the loud, comic book
crash-bash ending that probably sealed Trank the job of rebooting Fantastic Four. However, with an engaging
and likeable cast, the subtle observance of the three boys together, and a
distinct lack of score to support the images on screen, this is a good little
film with a darker edge than the usual super-power adventures.
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