SMALL ENGINE REPAIR

 John Bernthal     Shea Whigham     Jordana Spiro     Cidra Bravo     Spencer House

            A waaay out of the ordinary thriller.  But you have to wait for it.  First comes a set-up far too long, with old-men stories that have little interest for most of us.  Terrance (Bernthal), Packie (Whigham), and Frank (Pollono) are friends from childhood.  They bonded together during a horrific event early on, and since then, they have a special loyalty to one another, even though there are sharp differences in point of view.  Now that they’re older, they talk more and are able to show a bit more empathy.

            Frank has a daughter Crystal (Bravo) who was looked after by Terrance and Packie while he was incarcerated.  His ex-wife Karen (Spiro) is pretty much a loser, so Frank and his buddies try to be the best parents they can.  In the meantime, Crystal shows she is a smart cookie and manages to get accepted into a major university.  Her lower middle-class caretakers couldn’t be more thrilled; they’ve never experienced such pride in progeny in their lives.

            Suddenly, something happens by coincidence, and Frank—who has been perfectly straight since his release from prison—encounters a figure, Chad (House) that will have a lasting impact on all of them.  

            This is a major submission for John Pollono, who has written, directed, and stars in the production.  He has woven a story that will capture most of the audience at the end; I just don’t know how long people will stay with it.  Certainly, if they do, they will find a “last act” well worth the wait.  If I hadn’t been watching it for review purposes, I would have left before the half-way point.  

            But by the end, Pollono poses any number of ethical/moral dilemmas that will grab you and keep you on edge.  John Bernthal and Shea Whigham play doofuses so very well, and the references to gays are well placed.  John Pollono is optimally convincing as a complex personality with a singular purpose, but with multiple tugs at his soul.  The last-minute appearance of Jordana Spiro as his ex-wife helps to make the whole drama more plausible, as it provides some relief from the male-dominated script.  Cidra Bravo appears gifted in playing a tragic figure, but I object to filmmakers modeling such a character for young people.  It’s truly jarring to hear her lingo as if she were “one of the [older] boys.”

 

A film hard to sit through, but with gripping ethical/moral decisions having to be made at the end—which redeems it to some extent.

 

Grade:  C+                            By Donna R. Copeland

BEIRUT

Rosamund Pike     Jon Hamm     Dean Norris     Shea Whigham     Harry Pine

     If you go to see Beirut, directed by Brad Anderson and written by Tony Gilroy, you would do well beforehand to acquaint yourself thoroughly with the actor-character pairs, because so many people are thrown at you at once, it’s hard to know who’s who.  This is after the opening scene of an energetic cocktail party gone bad.  No background information is given, either about the story or the characters. So there is a lot of figuring-out to do through most of the first half.  This, along with Mason Skiles’ (Hamm) continuous imbibing of hard liquor brings on a bit of wooziness.

     Skiles has gone into a deep funk and become an alcoholic after his diplomatic sojourn in Beirut where he loses all that is dear to him.  He returns to the States after an international reputation for negotiating, only to form a small two-man company that negotiates between small-town bosses and labor unions.  After his partner announces that he is joining another company, Skiles is suddenly presented with a puzzling offer from the CIA, which is to present a lecture at the American University in Beirut on negotiating.  Beirut is the last place he wants to go on earth, but the timeliness (and probably seductiveness of something more exciting than his boring life) of the charge, along with a first-class airplane ticket, cash, and passport, allows him to be “poured” (alcohol reference again) onto the plane.

     Once there, Skiles has a devil of a time trying to find out what he is expected to do, because he knows it is more than simply a lecture.  Sandy Crowley (Pike) is clearly tasked with squiring him around, but the agendas of three State Department officials is obscure—until it finally seeps out.  He is to negotiate the release of an American (a former friend when he was in Lebanon) who has been kidnapped by Palestinians.  The exchange is to be for one of the men involved in the 1972 Munich massacre.  This means he has to deal with Israel as well, as they are likely to have one of the perpetrators.

     There are additional complexities in the mix that make this film engaging; unfortunately, the viewer is presented with so many puzzles to figure out it simply becomes frustrating.  The filmmakers should have given us more background into characters like Skiles, Crowley, the State Department officials, young Karim (whom Skiles and his wife had sheltered and mentored), and the whole political situation at the time.  When I view a film, I want to be carried along by the story, not charged with figuring out who is who and what is going on throughout.

     The actors are the best part of this film, giving color and fascination to an intriguing subject.  I think we were let down by director Anderson and writer Gilroy, who failed to provide the essential elements to make this a captivating story—which it should have been.  It’s only towards the very end when Skiles is negotiating the exchange of prisoners that Beirut comes into its own.

Intrigues during the Lebanese civil war that should captivate us more than this film does.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

COP CAR

Kevin Bacon     Shea Whigham     James Freedson-Jackson     Hays Wellford

                                                                           Cop Car

           Cop Car is an unexpected little thriller that keeps you guessing throughout.  Written (with Christopher D. Ford) and directed by Jon Watts, it stars Kevin Bacon as the cop, and he is one of the producers.  Travis (Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Wellford) look like they are about 10 years old and have run away from home when they come upon the sheriff’s car out on the countryside.  They hide from whoever might be around for a bit, then get enough nerve to run up and touch it.  No one seems to be around, so they get in and start fooling around and pretending they are cops.  As they get braver, they explore what’s in the car and begin driving it (with only the Super Mario videogames as previous experience.

           In the meantime, the sheriff comes back for his car only to be dumbfounded at its absence.  Much of the suspense and thrill of the story has to do with why he is out there in the first place and how he will devise a way to get his car back—he is not in uniform and has left all his equipment in the missing car.  His conversations with the dispatch officer are clever in their disguise of the basic problem and his maneuverings to get his car back.

           The boys have a great time at first, driving the car over the hills and then at higher speeds on the highway.  When they get bored, they stop and explore the car further.  That’s when they find guns, a bullet-proof vest and a huge surprise in the trunk.  My only problem with the film is that present-day 10 year-olds are so much savvier about cars, guns, and electronics than these two.  With a little more creativity, the writers could have found ways for them to get into as much trouble without straining credibility. 

           The drama has clever twists with additional characters that enrich its appeal and tension, such as a woman on the highway who has to figure out what to do when she thinks she has spotted two kids driving a sheriff’s car on the highway. 

           The experienced, talented Kevin Bacon easily plays the role of the sheriff facing major dilemmas.  The two child actors are as natural as they should be, and adeptly show terror and concern when that need arises.  Realistically, one is a little wiser than the other, who offers common sense at first, but easily gives in to dares from the other.  One of the additional characters simply listed as “Man” is played very effectively by Whigham, who had a major role in the television drama, “Boardwalk Empire.” 

           A couple of good lessons contained in the film are 1) that private citizens should be cautious about their involvement in catching perpetrators—leave it to the police; and 2) that children should be taught at a fairly early age about how to handle guns, the risks of taking things that don’t belong to them, and what to do and not do in emergency situations that arise (such as how to get in touch with those who can help).  The film could be used for good teaching moments, but only if parents are comfortable with their children seeing an R-rated film.

A joy ride turns out to be life threatening for two young boys.

Grade:  C+                        By Donna R. Copeland