Faults

I'll always remember Leland Orser for his nervous role as a surviving victim of Se7en's John Doe. I've probably seen him in bit parts since without realizing it's him, but Faults reveals his talent as he steps up to the task of a leading role. He's perfect as the cheap crook and Riley Stearns matches the darkly comic nature of his character with an ideal introduction. Stearns idiosyncratic style borrows from the best of modern cinema - the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson - but it pays off for a surreal, slightly stilted, but hilarious tone. Its premise of cult manipulation is immediately compelling, and it frames its story in a way that's offered skimmed over when it's portrayed on film and never committed to a full 90 minutes. Faults is a very confident debut, but it's a shame that the film wilts in its second half. It trades humour for a psychological thriller, and while it digs deeper into the characters, it loses its way by breaking its world. If only it didn't stumble in this final stretch, the twists in the ending could have had more impact. Still worth the watch.

7/10

I was very impressed with this film. We follow a down and out Cult novelist who specializes in understanding the methodology of how cults control individuals. The novelist is divorced, homeless, broke, suicidal and in debt with some very nasty former business partner when we meet him. When two parents approach him desperate for help, he agrees to help them with an extreme intervention with their cult involved daughter. The goal is to deprogram her. Arranging a kidnapping, he abducts the girl and isolates her in a motel room for days attempting to mentally break her down and understand her cult programing. It was engaging and completely unpredictable. I'm not totally satisfied how the story concluded but found the entire ride fun and intriguing.

Because near the end of the film, my brains exploded out the top of my head!

But seriously, I actually gave up on this movie after about 20 minutes. I thought that it was trying to be a comedy except it wasn't funny. Fortunately I was curious enough to keep watching, and I soon realized that the beginning wasn't exactly trying to be funny; it was trying to be pathetic, and it succeeded. That was days ago, and I am still thinking about this movie. The brutally honest truth is that I feel a bit terrified because the main guy sadly reminds me of myself, and I don't know that I would have handled the situation any differently than he did. :( Tip for viewers: This is not exactly a comedy. In my book, it is more like a psychological horror. If you like the beginning, you may not like the 2nd half. And if you think the whole thing is unrealistic, I am sorry to break the sad news to you that this kind of thing happens ALL THE TIME. --sniff--

If you go for a treatment, you might look for something conventional, something that has proved to work, because it's based on a formula. This ain't it! Let me make this clear from the beginning, even if some might claim to see where this is going, you can have a lot of fun watching it develop and going to its destination.

The acting is really great and even if the main character is a bit unlikeable, he still is able to pull quite a few things off. The story is weird and a bit all over the place, but it works for its purpose (downfalls and "duh" moments included). While not perfect, we need more movies who dare to be different. Even if they make us uncomfortable watching them

Seeing the interesting premise as well as being a big fan of Riley Stearns' second feature (The Art of Self-Defense) made me want to check this one out. Comparing the two they have a lot in common, themes like loneliness, being in control of your own life and the need to belong, as well as a good amount of dark humor are all in there. Even though it does slow down a bit midway through, the characters are interesting and the dialogues witty enough to carry the viewer through to a great ending.

P. S. I was really glad to see Leland Orser as a lead after so many supporting/smaller roles and boy did he nail this Ansel character, he absolutely stole the show (Winstead was also great as usual).