On his way to a “Reopen the Economy” protest.
(2019) Thriller (Breaking Glass) Scott Friend, Emma Duncan, Alex Breaux, Elisabeth Noone, Nancy Linden, Kevin Murray, Samantha Trionfo, Lateicia Ford, Jean Miller, Tim R. Worley, Bobby J. Brown, David Cohen, Andy Hopper, Bolton Marsh, David Cohen, Grant Garson, Graydon Hipple, Dan Verkman, Teresa Majorwicz. Directed by Brian Levin
There is an aphorism that goes “some things should stay buried.” In this film, that’s a literal truth. Unfortunately, it’s the only literal thing in the movie.
Will Shipe (Friend) returns to his small southern town following years of living and working in the City (doesn’t matter which one). His father has recently passed on and his shrewish mother (Noone) is essentially just as happy the old codger is gone. Now, maybe Will can get their family back into the prominence it has always deserved.
Of course, returning home means returning to those you grew up with, and for Will that includes his former best friend Nick Taylor (Breaux). However, Nick has become slightly unhinged; he sees visions of buried Confederate gold and spends his nights digging for it. He also has a hair-trigger and carries a gu around with him, never a good sign. Will’s Mom wants Will to stay as far away from Nick as he can, but not before he convinces Nick to stop digging. Mommy dearest, you see, is concerned that along with the gold Nick will dig up a secret that’s been buried since the Civil War – one that will destroy both the Taylor family and the Shipe family as well.
Things are kind of odd in Union Bridge beyond Nick; Nick’s cousin Mary (Duncan), whom Will used to date in high school, has taken up witchcraft. And while everyone seems pleased to see Will back, there’s an undercurrent that makes Will feel uneasy. And when he starts seeing the same visions that Nick has been seeing, well, you know what happens when the going gets weird – the weird go shopping. Or digging, as the case may be.
I tend to be the sort of critic who prefers efficient storytelling. Brevity is my watchword, and when a filmmaker can give me a story with a minimum of extraneous material, I tend to be more impressed. This is not that sort of movie. Now, some people revel in more detail. This is not that kind of movie either; there are a lot of images shown just for the sake of showing them; they have little or nothing to do with the story or the film and they can be jarring. That in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it isn’t something that I’m personally into, so take my objections with a grain of salt.
The discordant score adds to the off-putting and off-kilter feel. Levin is certainly not above thinking outside the box and that’s to be commended, but here he’s doing it to the detriment of the story, which becomes a slog to sit through. There are some moments that are Shirley Jackson-esque but not enough of them to really hold this film together.
REASONS TO SEE: There are some moments of Southern Gothic goodness.
REASONS TO AVOID: Incomprehensible in places and poorly paced. The characters don’t exactly invite me to spend a pleasant 90 minutes with them.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a fair amount of profanity as well as some violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Both Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, the original creators of the Spider-Man comic, passed away during production of the film.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: AppleTV
CRITICAL MASS: As of 5/19/20: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet, Metacritic: No score yet
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Mud
FINAL RATING: 4/10
NEXT: Destroyer
Cinema365 