The Integrity of Joseph Chambers

Yet another covid movie with few actors and constant navel inspection. These movies should come with a 'dont bother' warning. As you sit waiting for something to happen you wonder how come the star doesnt get lost which is typical of in the woods scenarios. How come this and that without giving too much away. HOWEVER the real audience insult is the non ending where you rise from your chair and swear at the tv for wasting those minutes from your life you wont get back. Some Directors think this is 'arty' or forced thought provoking but in this case it needed a conclusion. As society no longer automatically rewards the good and virtuous and if happy to punish the innocent this was one movie that badly needed a conclusion. If time is a consideration cut out all the aimless wandering and give us a result.

Joseph Chambers sells insurance for a living and he apparently makes a good living doing so. He is seen at the start of the story dressing up for a solo hunting adventure, much to the displeasure of his wife. Against her wise advice, the city slicker borrows a deer rifle from a friend for his first expedition.

His trek eventually turns out badly and the second half of the movie has Joseph making a few important decisions.

His future is dependent upon what moral choices he will ultimately make. Clayne Crawford is on screen alone for most of the film and he is excellent as Joseph Chambers. Will he or won't he do what is right?

As you can see I have very mixed feelings about this curate's egg.

The set up is great. A city boy has married a country girl and wants to prove that he can go hunting in local woods in his own Alexander Supertramp moment. He has no experience, no idea and no chance of success. Every stumble over a twig or branch is torture. His fumbling loading of the gun is cringeworthy. The ease with which he gets distracted is mind numbing.

I won't say how all this plays out but we can see it coming a mile away. This is mostly because of the interminable slow pace of the film which will have the average viewer anxiously looking at their watch fro a half hour in.

Could have been a short story.

Insurance Salesman Joe decides to champion his inner Bear Grylls and challenge his surgical skills in the wild. Armed with a rifle, he aims to shoot a deer.

This surprised me somewhat, I rather enjoyed it, a story of foolishness and trying to prove a point. It doesn't go as I expected, which is in its favour. Pacing has been pointed out by several as an issue, but if argue it's purposefully slow, feeling as though it was done in real time, it doesn't lurch from one action scene to the next. Efforts were made to make the film seem realistic.

A film about masculinity, it actually made for something of a change to the recent films I've seen, where masculinity is simply deemed bad, here it does at least explore and question it.

Considering Clayne Crawford does most of the film solo, he does a pretty fine job, a good performance.

Overall, this was much better than I expected.

7/10.

As I was watching this film, it wasn't long into it, that I start noticing the stupidity of the characters. I suppose that in itself is entertaining, but usually it's more frustrating and maddening. This film definitely doesn't lead you into laughing about the ridiculousness of stupidity either.

I asked myself WHY I continued to watch this movie....clear up to the last 15 minutes. And that is when it became clear.

Then the ending left me with different questions.

I like that!!

I bet many people will not understand or like this movie. I'm not sure I understand it....

All I can say is I liked it. It made me think and feel.