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Review #517 of 365
Movie Review of Death Sentence (2007) [R] 110 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.25
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 31 August 2007
Time: 5:50 pm
DVD Release Date: 8-Jan-08 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Directed by: James Wan (Dead Silence)
Written by: Ian Jaffers (debut) based on the novel Death Sentence by Brian Garfield
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Kevin Bacon (Where the Truth Lies) • Garrett Hedlund (Georgia Rule) • Kelly Preston (Broken Bridges) • Jordan Garrett (Saving Shiloh) • Stuart Lafferty ("One Tree Hill") • Aisha Tyler (Balls of Fury) • John Goodman (Evan Almighty)
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After helming a number of horror films and martial arts action films, James Wan takes on a piece of a more serious and dramatic nature in Ian Jaffers's adaptation of Brian Garfield's novel Death Sentence. Kevin Bacon plays a white collar father, Nick Hume, whose picturesque family: wife, Helen (Kelly Preston), and two sons: Brendan (Stuart Lafferty) and Lucas (Jordan Garrett) is shattered one evening when he makes a stop at the wrong gas station in the wrong part of town only to subsequently witness the unconscionable death of elder son and hockey player golden boy, Brendan, right before his eyes. A gang of what appear to be well-armed but nonetheless petty thieves rush the store and kill the clerk by shotgun as the bewildered Brendan watches on. They turn to him next, watch as one member is coached in the slitting of Brendan's throat, and then attempt to flee. Dad, unfortunately, disrupts their perfect plan when he jumps the man he feels certain just knifed his son, and rips off his ski mask revealing a startled, Joe Darly (Matt O'Leary). The rest of the gang tears off in their flame-painted, classic sports cars, leaving Joe to make it home on his own.
"…explosive and shocking as a psychologically and physically injured father decides to turn the tables on bad guys for whom there seems to be no system of justice capable of reining in their reign of terror."
Nick grabs up his son and races to the nearest hospital, where, unfortunately, just as Helen and Lucas arrive, Brendan is pronounced D.O.A. The entire family is devastated by the event but none more than Nick. He cannot fathom how he let this happen. The police nab a kid based on Nick's description, and he identifies him in a line-up. The Asst. D.A. basically advises him to help him secure a plea bargain from Joe Darley and accept a sentence of 3-5 guaranteed years. Nick is flabbergasted that his son's life would only be worth 3-5 years punishment, but he agrees to go along with it when the D.A. suggests there's just too little evidence, no video cam, no other eyewitnesses, and no weapon to prove this crime in court leading to the likelihood that Joe would go free after a lengthy trial. So, Nick goes along with it, until the actual court date. When he sees the smug look on Joe's face, and he thinks about this 'animal' being loose on the streets while his own son is now buried six feet under, he cannot go along with the plan in good conscience. So, when the judge asks him to confirm the identity of the assailant, he feigns ignorance and a lack of recollection of specific details of the attacker. He claims to no longer be sure this is his son's killer. Of course, he's sure, everyone is sure, but the proof is sketchy. Without an eyewitness to the event, the judge dismisses the charges and sets Joe free to his awaiting brother, Billy (Garrett Hedlund). It's not over for Nick, however. He uses his own version of 'cloak and dagger' tricks to follow Billy and Nick home. After seeing where Joe gets dropped off, he returns home to get his weapons—in this case a big knife. He desires to avenge the death of his son in the same way his son's life was taken. Using excuses of needing to go back to the office, he drives to the run-down apartment building and waits. As luck would have it, Joe appears out of the building on a routine trip to enter the trash, and Nick seizes this moment to follow him. In a secluded area of the building the two scuffle, and Nick eventually guts him like a pig leaving him on the floor of the trash room to die. He does so without compunction or hesitation, and only later begins to feel even the slightest sense of remorse. What he does not realize and only learns later from the investigating officer, Detective Wallis (Aisha Tyler doing double duty this week in Balls of Fury), that he has now started a war between himself and Billy Darley, one that is not going to end well for the Hume family, as Billy will not stop now until Nick's entire family is dead. It seems that Billy does not comprehend 'an eye for an eye' justice with things now in perfect balance. Instead, he sees the scales have been tipped, and the only way to equalize them in his world is to exact the ultimate revenge. Vigilante dad faces the murderous gang banger head on, though he lacks a few things on Billy's side: (a) a cold-blooded killing streak, (b) a ready arsenal of weapons—Billy's father, Bones Darley (John Goodman), is a local illegal gun supplier and drug lord, (c) a gang to do thy bidding. The story is both explosive and shocking as a psychologically and physically injured father decides to turn the tables on bad guys for whom there seems to be no system of justice capable of reining in their reign of terror.
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James Wan has proven himself a very capable director of suspenseful stories in his previous films such as Dead Silence and Saw, but here he commands the recently under-utilized talent of Kevin Bacon who leaps forth brilliantly demonstrating the carnal rage by which a scorned father in mourning can be subsequently controlled. He abandons all reason and further endangers the rest of his family as if the logic and morality switch in his head has been burned out not simply deactivated. Mr. Bacon, long recognized for his connections to other actors due to his prolific career, scores more solid dramatic points with this role. Ironically, it may be as difficult to relate to his character as it is easy to relate to his character, and both the script and Mr. Wan's direction play to this dichotomy.
As the film nears its rightful climax, however, it does start to border on the absurd a bit as the inevitable showdown between Billy Darley and Nick Hume plays out in the abandoned hospital that has become the cooking lab for the Darley Family drug ring. Maudlin music and surreal lighting for the scene enhance the near ludicrous nature of it. On the heels of having just wasted his father with a shot gun shot to the belly, Billy enters the hospital on a mission to prove himself no longer the lap dog of his now stony silent dad. His motivation in attempting to kill Nick now seems more about proving himself than exacting the final revenge he feels due after Nick killed his little brother. Garrett Hedlund, skin-headed with marvelously executed tattoos, plays this role well, definitely one of his best and most challenging roles to date.
"..pops out as very alarming social statement, yet it quickly devolves into a variation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. "
Somehow, it seems, the writer is asking for a shade of sympathy for Billy, but producing any will prove a great challenge combined with a willful suspension of common morality. Therefore, the ending turns out all the more difficult to stomach. Likewise, the film's plot suffers from a single-mindedness that too often drives many films these days whereby once the main event happens, the rest of the film presents little more than the logical un-spooling of the lives of the main pro- and antagonists. Unfortunately, this does not make for a very meaty film. Likewise, unless the screenwriter too has lost all sense, the ending arrives as predictably and dutifully as the passing of seasons. Death Sentence pops out as very alarming social statement, yet it quickly devolves into a variation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
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Other Projects Featuring Death Sentence (2007)
Cast Members
Kevin Bacon
• Garrett Hedlund • Kelly PrestonJordan Garrett
• Stuart Lafferty • Aisha TylerJohn Goodman
Director
James Wan
Writer
Ian Jaffers
| Book | DVD | VHS |
| Autographed Poster | ||
Previously proven suspense director James Wan commands in Death Sentence Kevin Bacon who demonstrates the carnal rage of a scorned father (Nick Hume) mourning the death of his son scoring both more serious dramatic résumé points. As it nears its climax, it starts to border on the absurd as the inevitable showdown between Billy Darley (Garrett Hedlund)—the leader of the gang that murdered Nick's son—and Nick plays out. Maudlin music and surreal lighting for the scene enhance the near ludicrous nature of it. The plot suffers from a single-mindedness whereby once the main event happens, the rest presents simply the logical un-spooling of the lives of the pro- and antagonists making for a less-than-meaty film with an ending that arrives as predictably as the passing of seasons. Death Sentence pops out as a very alarming social statement yet quickly devolves into a variation of Moby Dick.
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