By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Jack Bryan
Country: united_states
Year: 2015
Running time: 89
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294473/combined
Kyle says: “’What I do isn’t about the people that die; it’s about the people that are left alive. They get the short end of the stick, as far as I’m concerned’. This is the moral of a tale told by a hired killer about a dog and a mountain lion. None of the three is among the living at the end, but you know what he means. Or you will if you decide to stick with this nifty little psychological thriller, about a battered wife whose brother decides to hire a contract killer to murder her husband. She decides her only option is to stay with a guy who seems gentle and caring enough, until he drinks, because it is infinitely worse to live at home with her deranged judgmental mother.
“What makes THE LIVING worthwhile, if you are not sickened by the marital abuse and gun violence that so many Americans claim as their birthright, is the stylish direction by Jack Bryan, the smart production design by Chelsea Michaels, and the incisive cinematography by Aleksander Kosutic, in which every detail chosen and illuminated speaks to the dreadful anomie of life in these desolate small towns. But the best aspect of THE LIVING is the acting by five principals, a fortunate ensemble of professionals with just the right touch of vulnerability to bring this material to life — Fran Kranz and Jocelin Donahue as the married couple who cannot live either with or without each other, Kenny Wormald as her avenging but indecisive brother (whom some will remember from last year’s KID CANNABIS and the remake of FOOTLOOSE), Joelle Carter as their mother (HIGH FIDELITY, SWIMMING, LISA PICARD IS FAMOUS), whose spiritual desolation is so complete she can barely find the words to express it, and best of all Chris Mulkey (TWIN PEAKS, WASTED, LITTLE CHENIER, DARK MOON RISING) as a killer for hire more concerned about any kind of human contact than the lives of most people, who matter not in the least to him. Within the limitations of character conventions and audience expectations, Mulkey’s is a quite affecting performance.
“THE LIVING was the recipient of the Stubbornly Independent Award from the Tallgrass International Film Festival in 2014. 3 cats
“Seen Saturday, August 8, 2015, on Netflix, New York.”