After Rubicon

I am sure that this movie accomplishes a lot compared to what ever its budget was. The setting and the story cleverly avoids needing a big cast or crowds. I am also sure that the story touched upon themes that were quite relevant around the time of its release. But now, almost 30 years later, it completely failed to captivate me at any level.

The villains of the story are completely boring, and their motives are highly questionable. While its easy to look back at thrillers like this and call them naive, there's really no way around it. Maurstad's characters doesn't seem to have reflected over his situation at all, which makes his role in the narrative hard to believe (throughout the movie). The faith of the young boys and their mother could have evoked quite powerful emotions, but it's largely glossed over.

The direction, soundtrack and even the actor's performances are good enough for an entertaining movie. It's the story that's the weak link that makes it all fall apart.