'UNDERTOW' SWAMPED BY HOKEY GOTHIC STORY.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic DAVID GORDON David Gordon may refer to:
adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of movies; cinematic. film  i·cal·ly adv. elements. But in ``Undertow,'' a Southern gothic Southern Gothic is a subgenre of the Gothic writing style, unique to American literature. Like its parent genre, it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot. thriller about two young brothers on the run across rural Georgia from their evil uncle, stronger, more stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. narrative is not a snug fit. Green's unique sensibility grows nicely through some of the genre's conventions. An initial chase proves viscerally jarring when a rusty nail goes through a kid's foot, and a fight to the death is noteworthy for its true-to-life awkwardness and breathless exertion. For the most part, though, hokey hok·ey adj. hok·i·er, hok·i·est Slang 1. Mawkishly sentimental; corny. 2. Noticeably contrived; artificial. hok story demands work against the filmmaker's struggle to maintain his lyrical naturalism. Also not helping are characters that lean more toward caricature than the vibrant, distinctive everyfolk Green usually brings us. Best of the bunch is the film's protagonist, Chris, a trouble-seeking adolescent, played by English actor Jamie Bell (``Billy Elliot''), who can't forgive his taciturn tac·i·turn adj. Habitually untalkative. See Synonyms at silent. [French taciturne, from Old French, from Latin taciturnus, from tacitus, silent; see tacit. dad, John (Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. Biography Early life Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia to Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova , too studiedly down home), for moving them to a backwoods hog farm The Hog Farm is an organization considered to be America's longest running hippie commune. With beginnings as an actual collective hog farm in Tujunga, California, the group, founded in the 1960s, by a group of people including Wavy Gravy, evolved into a "mobile, . That had something to do with the death of Chris' and his sickly little brother Tim's (Devon Alan) mother. John's black sheep brother Deel (Josh Lucas) had something to do with the mom, too. When the oily ex-con shows up unexpected, Chris feels an uncomfortable attraction/repulsion toward the man. Inevitably, Deel is tracking his young kin through swamps and coastal marshes. ``Undertow'' boasts atmosphere to burn. But it feels too much like a show, and that's something a filmmaker as organic and personal as Green can't seem to give his heart to. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com UNDERTOW - Two and one half stars (R: violence, language, children in jeopardy) Starring: Jamie Bell, Josh Lucas, Devon Alan, Dermot Mulroney. Director: David Gordon Green. Running time: 1 hr. 47 min. Playing: Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Laemmle Monica, Santa Monica. In a nutshell: Southern gothic melodrama in which kids run from murderous relative has some - but not enough - of the unique behavioral moments that made the director's ``George Washington'' and ``All the Real Girls'' so enchanting. |
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