 Frailty (2002) Bill Paxton stars and directs, and as an actor, he hasn't advanced too much further than the bastard older brother schtick from Weird Science. No matter what's he's doing in any film, I always hear Chet saying "You two donkey dicks couldn't get laid in a morgue." However, since this is ostensibly a review of Frailty, I'll attempt to make this the first paragraph of the review that doesn't reference Weird Sci—shit, I fucked that up already. That's the last time, I swear. Anyway, the basic plot of the film is that Paxton plays a widower father to two young sons. Everything is hunky-dory until Dad bursts into the boys' room one night to explain to them that he has been visited by an angel. The angel informed him that they have been appointed to rid the world of demons. He will be given lists of people who are actually demons in disguise, and he will be shown three weapons to use in dispatching the demons. The story is told in flashbacks, with Matthew McConaughey drowsily playing the elder brother. The father begins bringing "demons" home to the backyard shed, where he begins to try to enlist the boys in the "mission." It's a genuinely creepy premise—a mentally ill father with two children in his care, dragging them into his delusion. The driving force behind most of the film is the conflict between the brothers: the elder who believes that his dad is insane, and the younger brother who believes his father as only an impressionable young son can. Paxton may be a one-note actor, but as a first-time director, he's capable enough. No jumpcuts or fancy editing, all straightforward stuff. McConaughey is barely there, thankfully, and it's always nice to see early 80s HBO standby Powers Boothe finding work. The two young sons are played by newcomers Matthew O'Leary and Jeremy Sumpter, both of which do fine jobs, and hopefully they both will be able to take future roles that Haley Joel Osment would otherwise monopolize. There isn't a lot of conventional "thrilling" or "chilling" in this movie, which probably explains why it wasn't widely seen. It's just a slow burn that gives you a nice uneasy feeling while you watch the insanity unfold. The end of the film tries out some twisty-turny type plot twists in the Shymammmammlallammalamnannanann vein, to make you question what has occurred up up to that point, but it's done lightly enough that it complements the rest of the film rather than overwhelming it. I enjoyed the movie enough, but many people won't because they will go in expecting it to be something it just isn't. Like, if you have always wanted to see Chet from Weird Science hack up people with an axe, you've finally found—aw, SHIT!!!!
Review by Inéz Conchita Echevarria |