Cork'08 - SYMPATHETIC DETAILS
SYMPATHETIC DETAILS is a hit man-gets-a-conscience thriller written and directed by Benjamin Busch, actor in television's acclaimed show THE WIRE. I've heard a lot of reviews about how good that show is. I don't think I'll be hearing quite so much about this film.
The script tries its best to squeeze some new life out of the tired old idea (maybe being a hit man is wrong!) and never quite succeeds. A lack of originality is never a problem when it's covered for by other aspects of the film but that's where SYMPATHETIC DETAILS falls down.
As mundane as the story is (there is some okay action, but that's about it) the dialogue is ever worse. The over-talky scenes are littered with lines that must have seemed really clever and profound when they were written down but just sound pretentious and stupid when read aloud, with the entire cast struggling to breathe life into the majority of the script.
And that brings me to the main problem. I can't remember the last time I saw a film that was this badly acted. Almost the entire cast are terrible (thought the aforementioned script doesn't help) and I felt embarrassed for them just watching it.
The chances are that you won't be seeing this film in a cinema any time soon anyway. Apart from its low budget indie status hindering it, it's only about an hour long, too short for cinema and probably slightly too long for TV. It's not really worth an outing on either.
Cork coverage to be continued...
The script tries its best to squeeze some new life out of the tired old idea (maybe being a hit man is wrong!) and never quite succeeds. A lack of originality is never a problem when it's covered for by other aspects of the film but that's where SYMPATHETIC DETAILS falls down.
As mundane as the story is (there is some okay action, but that's about it) the dialogue is ever worse. The over-talky scenes are littered with lines that must have seemed really clever and profound when they were written down but just sound pretentious and stupid when read aloud, with the entire cast struggling to breathe life into the majority of the script.
And that brings me to the main problem. I can't remember the last time I saw a film that was this badly acted. Almost the entire cast are terrible (thought the aforementioned script doesn't help) and I felt embarrassed for them just watching it.
The chances are that you won't be seeing this film in a cinema any time soon anyway. Apart from its low budget indie status hindering it, it's only about an hour long, too short for cinema and probably slightly too long for TV. It's not really worth an outing on either.
Cork coverage to be continued...
Labels: cork film festival, Film festivals
posted by Alan at 8:25 pm
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