Undertow

John (Dermot Mulroney) is a single father living in backwoods Georgia with his two sons, teenaged Chris (Jamie Bell) and younger Tim (Devon Alan). Their quiet and routine lives are disrupted with the arrival of Deel (Josh Lucas), John's estranged brother. They decide to try to work things out and become a family, but competitiveness gets the best of the two men, secrets are revealed, and this quickly leads to horrific violence. The two kids escape the situation only to find themselves being hunted across the state.

The opening credits have a 70s Dukes of Hazzard feel (ostensibly the filmmaker's way of letting us know in which decade this story is set, as the isolated existence of the family gives no indication) that includes random freeze-frames. This is an early clue that this movie is going to be a unique experience. The freeze-frames become distracting (and seemingly arbitrary) when they return later interspersed throughout the film, but they help to loosen up the exciting (but excruciating!) introduction. The cinematography throughout this film is absolutely gorgeous and makes rural Georgia appear to be some sort of poverty-stricken fantasy land.

The performances are excellent. Mulroney and Lucas, two typical supporting Hollywood heartthrobs that some might say are miscast, actually play well off of each other and are very believable as brothers. The child actors are phenomenal, which is important as the story belongs to these two boys who are suddenly faced with violence that changes their lives. The plot borders on a twisted fairytale--it even involves gold coins! This seems silly at times, but considering this movie is told through the perspective of two young boys, it is somehow fitting.

The movie is at times quirky and filled with charming weirdness. Tim, in particular, is a fascinating character that has some sort of eating disorder where his body rejects food but craves things like paint, mud, and worms. The supporting characters the boys meet on their journey are equally bizarre. Some scenes come across as ridiculous or absurd, but Undertow is a film that is rich in both symbolism and metaphor and it is necessary to look for the deeper meaning of such scenes.

Alternately charming and disturbing, Undertow is a powerful film about the horrors of betrayal and family violence, and the beauty of forgiveness. Highly recommended, but be warned that the violence is graphic and very difficult to watch.

My Rating: 8/10

David Gordon Green's third film is more conventionally plotted than his previous "All the Pretty Girls" but it has his very distinctive earthy and poetic style that makes the film dreamy and beautiful without being "pretty-pretty". Based on the real story, "Undertow" tells about a father and his two sons who live in a rural backwoods Georgia. The father is a lonely man; the older son is a rebel, and the young one has some health problems. One day, a long lost Uncle Deel shows up, and the lives of four of them are changed forever. This film is a successful combination of the family drama and "South Gothic Thriller". It brings to mind such classics of the cinema as "Night Hunter" and the writings of Mark Twain and Brothers Grimm as well as the ancient legends and myths. The best about the film are its stunning cinematography and performances by Jamie Bell as Chris Munn, the older boy and Josh Lucas as Deel Munn, the boys' uncle whom they never knew.

I watched Undertow at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November 2004. I had previously heard nothing about the film and it was more or less a coincidence that made med watch it. It was a pleasant experience though.

Undertow is about two brothers living with their father in rural America. They live inside the woods since their father wants to keep away from other people. The oldest son, Chris, is a troubled kid almost always in trouble with the law. The youngest son has health problems. One day the fathers brother comes to visit, recently out of prison. He stays for a while before starting a new job. Soon though, there is trouble. Things happen and before long the two brothers are running from their uncle.

The story here is perhaps nothing you haven't seen before at one time or another. But it's well executed and the strange, almost surreal, mood of the film is well maintained throughout. What stands out though in my opinion is the acting. All the main characters are acted very well. Especially Jamie Bell is excellent as the oldest brother. Also Josh Lucas does a terrific job playing the boys' unpleasant uncle.

I wouldn't call this a masterpiece but it's well worth the watch. If for nothing else, then at least for the acting. It was one of the better films i saw at this years film festival, and i feel it's worth recommending. I rate it 6/10.

In the country of Drees County, the widow hard worker John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) lives in a simple rural isolated property with his rebel and troubled son Chris (Jamie Bell) and his sick son Tin (Devon Alan) and no friends. When his brother Deel Munn (Josh Lucas) unexpectedly arrives in his house on probation, John welcomes him. However, the real intentions of Deel lead the family to a tragedy, forcing the boys to leave home.

"Undertow" is a low paced movie, with a short story, great development of characters and excellent performances. There are no big surprises along the story and in spite of the introduction of the film inducing that it is based on a true event, I have not found any reference in Internet about this murder. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contra Corrente" ("Undertow")

I recently saw this film after seeing Green's George Washington. While that film was interesting it wasn't fantastic...Undertow is fantastic and more. The plot is simple enough, just a story about two boys and their father living in the backwoods of America when their world is interrupted. The boys' uncle comes to visit, recently out of prison, and life quickly changes for them all and the true beauty of this film comes out. Where many movies fail is in focusing too heavily on the main characters or the action of the story. Undertow makes no such mistakes. In between the more intense scenes we are introduced to the world around our heroes. We meet fully developed characters each of whom could easily fill a movie of their own. Rather than creating a world for us to watch, Green has instead allowed us into a living, breathing world as observers. We don't get explanations for everything, only what we see on the screen. Miraculously, none of these characters slow down the film. They add humor or romance or suspense before we are snapped back to the main story. On top of all that the film is beautifully shot, perfectly acted/cast and the music fits the moods in each scene. There is finally a movie that can thrill us, but still take time to make sure we care and believe in it's world. I cannot recommend it enough, you will not be disappointed.

I'm not sure what world Green will next allow us to enter, but I can't wait.