Genre Crime Thriller Rating: R18+ (High impact sexualised themes and violence) Run Time: 104 mins Visual Format: 1.78:1 Audio Format Dolby: 5.1 Language English BUY DIRECT FROM ACCENT FILMS Author: James Ackland James Franco (Freaks and Geeks, Spiderman) adapts Cormac McCarthy’s 1973 novel and spins a tale of a young man on the very fringe of society. An outcast, rejected by the towns folk for being a known trouble maker, Lester Ballard hides out in the woods and has a knack for getting into trouble of the worst kind. Lester’s days are spent stealing and foraging for food and finding shelter while annoying the new occupants of his fathers land and that’s only the beginning. His inability to honestly communicate with local law enforcement and his resentment towards them keeps him on the back foot. At one point the local sheriff asks “and what things you done that we ain’t found out yet?” Well… Things get a whole lot worse after lester comes across a derelict car in the woods, the last resting place of a young couple. Ballard played by Scott Haze (Post) heavy breathes his way through the performance and you can tell he's giving it everything he has. The amount of force he excerpts in this film is stunning and he holds your attention and also manages to force you listen to him with his thick country accent through a rather large pair of cosmetically decaying teeth. company, romance. He makes the ultimate choice and even though his choices are monstrous, you feel his loneliness and need for companionship. Lester’s bruised and childlike character is almost given no choice. And its obvious the scars of trauma from his youth are still fresh.There is an awkward dark humour behind the story and Haze’s portrailal. But it's bleak. It’s Very bleak. Entering Ed Gein/ Norman Bates territory. The mountainous landscape of Tennessee is perfect for the dark and twisted setting of Ballard’s reality. Caves and ice cold creeks are never good for a comfortable life. The mountainous landscape of Tennessee is perfect for the dark and twisted setting of Ballard’s reality. Caves and ice cold creeks are never good for a comfortable life. Franco as director is very forthright with his options and his choices, much like Ballard, they can be very confronting and grim. Opening the film with a non disclosed voice over and taking quotes from McCarthy’s novel. Franco is faithful to the 3 act structure of McCarthy’s novel. Child of God also has a beautifully unobtrusive musical score from Aaron Embry. While it does not match the graphic nature of the story. It does capture the simple mind of Lester and the local. If you like the woods, if you like stories of outcasts in woods, if you even like cuddly toys in the woods… check out Child of god. Video: A lovely looking picture, even on DVD. I hope to catch the Blu ray eventually. But for now it’s got a great quality and is presented in 1.85:1 ratio.
Audio: The mountainous audio surroundings are great and the sound crew have captured the various elements of them well. Here on DVD it’s presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Extras: Lots of good trailers for upcoming Accent films. Rating: Overall: 3.5 M: 4 V: 3.5 A: 3.5 E: 1
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December 2015
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