Son of a Gun (2014), Australian, is one of those discs that arrived from Netflix that had me wondering: Why did I rent this? Probably because it has a respectable rating and Ewan McGregor is in it. He’s not the star, but his role is significant. The lead is young Breton Thwaites, who acquits himself well as the victim of an abusive father. His character is sent to prison for a six-month stretch. As was the case with James Caan's character in Michael Mann's
Thief (1981), one of the greatest crime films ever, he keeps a collage of happy images to which he aspires. He is saved from a gang rape by McGregor and his mates. Of course, there is a price to pay. Upon his release he is “recruited” into a violent criminal gang and his first job is to hijack a helicopter and break his “savior” out of jail. Eventually he participates in a gold heist. The film was directed by Julius Avery, his first time at the helm of a full length work. He also wrote the screenplay with help from John Collee. I like the way they trusted the viewer to follow the story as it leaped past unnecessary exposition. The flick runs a tidy 108 minutes. I also enjoyed the uncompromising depiction of the criminals. There is no honor among these thieves. There are questionable points, as there almost always are in such fare. I found it hard to believe the crew would trust a novice is such a crucial role in the robbery. Also, the kid does a lot of shooting but doesn’t kill anyone, an obvious plot-ploy to keep him sympathetic. McGregor, on the other hand… It’s easy to see why he took the role in such an obscure film, although I realize it may have been popular down under. 14,000+ users at IMDb have rated
Son…, forging to a consensus of 6.5 of ten, which seems low. I rate it 3.5 of five. Those who are squeamish about violence and the realistic portrayal of hardcore criminals should pass. I had a vivid dream last night which was no doubt triggered by the flick. I parked my car in a lot to attend a wake, and when I returned it was gone. Another car and two vans were positioned as if to hide the fact that my Hyundai was missing, which I’m not sure makes sense outside a dream. There was a shady character nearby. I threatened to call the cops if my car was not returned. I promised “No questions asked.” I doubt I would be as brave in real life.
My thanks to the kind folks who bought, donated and swapped books today. The session was made particularly bright by two visits. James, Lafayette H.S. class of '62, took down information on how to contact me on Facebook regarding my books. I have to temper my hope, as there rarely is follow up in such instances. Nile, a junior and finance major at Bernard Baruch, was feeling me out for an assignment on unusual businesses for his journalism class. He took a picture of the cover of
Rising Star. I encouraged him to contact me on FB with any questions he might have.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
No comments:
Post a Comment