Deadfall

Sibling Rivalry

Deadfall is a film I watched on a whim, and by doing so, only did the smallest amount of plot research before watching it. Usually I pride myself on knowing a released film's plot, in case it comes up in conversation and also because I'm a huge nerd when it comes to film knowledge and trivia. However, the tiny plot synopsis I read gave me slightly high expectations of the 90-odd minute drama, which weren't going to be met any time soon.

The synopsis in question read:

“A thriller that follows two siblings who decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist, and their unlikely reunion during another family's Thanksgiving celebration.”

Unfortunately, this led me to believe that the film was going to centre around the family's Thanksgiving celebration and the tension between a normal American family and the Bonnie and Clyde siblings. Let me just point out, I am a massive fan of these type of films. In recent years, some of my favourite releases have been small, independent films that feature a sparse cast with the action often taking place in just one room. Fantastic examples of these would be Hard Candy, Right At Your Door and Michael Haneke's original Funny Games. So when I expected a film along those lines, I was quite disappointed by what I saw.

The film begins just after the siblings (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) pull off their heist and crash their car. For unknown reasons, they split up and plan to meet over the Canadian border. The sister hitches a ride with a fleeing criminal (Charlie Hunnam) who is on his way to his parents for Thanksgiving, whilst the brother starts a murderous trail that alerts the local sheriff's department. It all culminates with the tense Thanksgiving dinner and a shoot-out where family ties on both sides are tested.

Going back to the original synopsis, I shall pick out phrases used to describe Deadfall:

“...thriller...”,

“...fend for themselves...”,

“...botched casino heist...”.

The film is in fact a drama with some sudden gory moments and the occasional fight or chase sequence; it is hardly a thriller. I rarely leave a cinema auditorium for a bathroom break, however with Deadfall, I felt comfortable in the belief that I wasn't going to miss any relevant plot developments, and unfortunately, I was correct.

The siblings hardly 'fend for themselves'. Like I described, Olivia Wilde, the initially dim-witted sister instantly relies on a stranger's charity and possessions to survive, leeching his resources for most of the film. Eric Bana, on the other hand, starts two-dimensionally causing chaos everywhere he goes, indifferent about the attention he inevitably attracts. He might have to contend with injuries and a lack of winter clothing, but he just wanders around snow-covered forests like he is Bear Grylls on a pleasure stroll. There is as much tension in these tedious build-up scenes as in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

“But wait! What about that botched casino heist that started this whole escapade off?! Surely that's going to get explained and maybe even featured in a flashback scenario?” Nope. Swept under the floorboards like a shameful second-family.

So that leaves us with the finale, where the siblings reunite during the convict's Thanksgiving family meal. Thankfully, this is the best section of the film, but it's too late. By now, you have no interest in anyone apart from the sweet, innocent parents (played by an alliterator's dream couple: Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson).  The film has taken too long setting up too many pointless scenarios for you to fully pay attention to it's climax!  

Does that spunky bar-owner finally separate herself from the company of her ex-husband's family? 

Did the innocent kid get shot during one of Eric Bana's pointless gunfights? 

Was that a hint of incest in the opening scene between the siblings?

It doesn't matter, because these threads are never touched on again!

It irritates me how the film's writer had this fantastic premise of a finale, and then wasted most of the film on pointless nonsense.  In my opinion, Deadfall could have been greatly improved just by having the siblings take the family hostage in the film's first act, and then allow their respective back-stories to be seen through realistic exchanges between the characters over the course of the film. This would have made me care about what was going to happen to Jay The Convict's family.   It also would have given the brother-sister relationship much more depth and realism, instead of having Eric Bana briefly look at young childhood pictures and then pointlessly explain how he used to take care of his little sister, to that very sister.

It is a pity that the script and storyline let the film down so much, as the director does a very good job with the film's overall stylish and crisp aesthetic. However whilst beauty does captures attention, personality captures the heart, and this is where Deadfall falters.

Rating: 4/10