By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: David Gordon Green
Starring: Dermot Mulroney | Devon Alan | Eddie Rouse | Jamie Bell | Josh Lucas | Kristen Stewart | Patrice Johnson | Robert Longstreet
Country: united_states
Year: 2004
Running time: 107
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422491/combined
Bruce says: “**ATTENTION SPOILERS**
“UNDERTOW is the latest film from David Gordon Green, director of GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS. This is the first film which he did not write himself. Again, Green proves beyond a doubt that he has talent. UNDERTOW is lush and beautiful, well-acted and spine-chilling. In a recent New York Times interview Green mentioned that his aim was to create the feeling one got from reading The Hardy Boys. In my mind UNDERTOW has more the feeling of the Charles Laughton classic, THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. The music by Philip Glass suits the dramatic content well.
“John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) lives in an out-of-the-way place in rural Georgia with his two sons. At night he sits in his favorite chair by the window, lighting up his corn cob pipe which is beautifully reflected through the lace curtains. There is a lot of atmosphere here in the South. The older son Chris (Jamie Bell) is a problem child. He is constantly getting into trouble. He gets in fights and his girlfriend’s father doesn’t want his kind hanging around his daughter. Chris’ relationship with his father is strained. Tim, the younger boy (Devon Alan), has problems of his own. It seems he is dying of some strange disease. He has little appetite and throws up a lot. Later we learn that Tim eats dirt and rotten leaves and also drinks paint. He wants to be sick; his illness is emotional, not physical. The bond between Chris and Tim is very strong.
“When John’s brother Deel shows up at the farm one day, it appears he has come to make amends. He has just left prison and wants to spend some time with his brother and his nephews. John was always the good son and Deel, the bad, like Tim and Chris. Soon we discover that good and bad are not always black and white. John has his own nasty past. Be that as it may, Deel recasts himself as pure evil not merely bad when he kills his brother to get possession of some Mexican gold coins their father had left to the two of them. When Chris and Tim discover their father’s corpse, the chase is on. Chris grabs the coins, throws away the keys to Deel’s car and off the two young boys go. Soon Deel is on their trail. The rest of the film is a creepy, suspenseful game between the hunter and the hunted.
“Josh Lucas (SWEET HOME ALABAMA, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, A BEAUTIFUL MIND) is very good as the evil Deel, which is somewhat casting against type. Jamie Bell (BILLY ELLIOT) is one tough teenage kid, totally hiding his sensitive and creative side we saw earlier in his career. In UNDERTOW Bell certainly proves he is no one-trick pony.
“Unfortunately, as fine as the overall product may be, UNDERTOW lacks substance. I find that my memories of UNDERTOW have already not aged well. Too bad. An abundance of talent does not always make the whole add up to the sum of the parts. I liked this film, but I wanted to love it. 3.5 cats”
Michael says: “David Gordon Green is three-for-three. The talented director, who has wowed Chlotrudis members with GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS, returns with a new film that explores genre territory. Green successfully blends his idiosyncratic style with the conventions of a classic thriller in a tale of family bloodshed and greed set among the poor in the swamps of Georgia. Chris and his younger bother Tim find themselves on the run after a deadly confrontation involving their father, their uncle, and a bag of gold coins. Incorporating themes from such sources as Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Huckleberry Finn, Green takes us on a journey through the poverty-stricken South, while keeping us on the edge of our seats. Jamie Bell (BILLY ELLIOT) proves that his acting extends beyond his first film, and cinematographer Tim Orr (nominated for GEORGE WASHINGTON) creates a dreamy look that blends the genre with the filmmaker. 4 ½ cats”
Thom says: “Of Green’s earlier work I have only seen ALL THE REAL GIRLS. Except for the inexplicable title I thought the film showed terrific promise, but still I was unprepared for how much I liked UNDERTOW. Here is a film by a director in full flower. Like FATHER & SON, this is a ‘man’s’ film as the only characters of consequence are male. But unlike that Russian masterpiece there is no homoeroticism, intended or otherwise. A father and his two sons have receded to the woods of rural Georgia, where their life is unexciting and monotonous. The emergence of the father’s no-good brother sets things spinning out of control. Josh Lucas does a great job of portraying an ominous threat as the brother. Jamie Bell, remembered for his honest performances in both BILLY ELLIOT & NICHOLAS NICKELBY, is outstanding as a desperate teen. Devon Alan as the youngest son is chilling as a boy who eats hazardous materials. The flow of the film is amazing; the film is also gorgeously photographed. In many ways the film reminded me of Charles Laughton’s classic THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. 4.5 cats”