You don't go into an action flick expecting much more than cheap thrills and a few pretty faces. But director John Frankenheimer turns it up a notch in "Reindeer Games," delivering a film loaded with humor, intelligence and exhilarating suspense.
Rudy (Ben Affleck) is a car thief serving five years in a maximum security prison. He swears that all he wants when he gets out is a cup of hot chocolate and a piece of pecan pie. His cellmate, Nick (John Frain), just wants to spend the weekend in a Motel 6 with his "pen pal," Ashley (the ubiquitous Charlize Theron). He's never met her, but her letters and unbelievably glamorous photographs have made prison life a little less gloomy.
But both Rudy and Nick - like the film's viewers - get a lot more than they bargained for. When a food fight breaks out in the cafeteria two days before their expected release, Nick is killed and Rudy decides to assume his identity in order to woo the beautiful Ashley. Soon his little white lie has enmeshed him in a casino-robbery plot, at the mercy of Ashley's brother, Gabriel (Gary Sinise, letter-perfect as usual) and the usual gang of thugs.
|
The dialogue here is standard action fare, but writer Ehren Kruger has created more twists and turns than a year's worth of "Melrose Place" reruns. As the film progresses, Rudy - and the audience - is less and less sure of whom he can trust. And while twist endings don't necessarily make a film Oscar-worthy, Kruger's shocking revelations surely boost the pace and adrenaline.
Part of the film's appeal is that it is not afraid to make fun of the stock characters that compose its cast. Gabriel cuts an imposing figure with his long, greasy hair, but in truth, he and his comrades are not accomplished criminals. Meanwhile, Rudy looks more boy-next-door than ex-con. This contrast makes for some wryly amusing moments, like the one in which Rudy argues with Gabriel about how many men they need for the casino job. Frustrated, Rudy finally snaps, "Raise your hand if you've ever run a robbery." The usually-threatening men look chagrined, and the plans continue under Rudy's direction.
|
The shifting balance of power is what makes the film so exciting. In most action films, you have a sense of who's good and who's bad, who's going to win and why. That's not so here - one minute Rudy discovers something that seemingly gives him the upper hand; the next he is foiled again, often by something or someone completely unexpected.
This kind of narrative requires an actor with more dimension than the typical action hero (Bruce Willis need not apply). Affleck is instantly engaging as Rudy; thanks to a tough-guy stature, real-life tattoos and an aw-shucks kind of sex appeal, he looks the part. But Affleck has proven he's more than just a pretty face in films like "Good Will Hunting" and here he moves from threatening to vulnerable at a moment's notice and plays his scenes with youthful exuberance and practiced restraint.
Theron's acting, on the other hand, lacks this maturity. Ashley's role requires her to explore a character with multiple agendas. While Theron delivers her lines with the proper inflection, and flashes an alternately wholesome and dangerous smile, she lacks any true depth or sense of motivation.
Not surprisingly, then, there is little chemistry between Affleck and Theron -- their much-hyped slapstick sex scene, for example, is more comical than sensual. This doesn't necessarily detract from the film, though. While it's always fun to see sparks fly, in this case, Rudy and Ashley's precarious interaction only reinforces the uncertainty of all the relationships - and the plot itself.
For the better part of 40 years, Frankenheimer has hovered between the ingenious and the inane, with films like "The Manchurian Candidate" and "The Island of Dr. Moreau." This film is meant as a ticket back into the legion of respectable directors in Hollywood. One sees hints of this intention in Rudy, whose path throughout the film is driven by a desperate desire to get his life back on track. It would be wrong to reveal whether Rudy succeeds, but it's safe to say that Frankenheimer certainly does.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
