2.5/5 Son of a Gun Son of a Gun, while anchored by efficient performances and several rousing action scenes, is a film that comes to a conclusion without ever claiming an identity. First-time feature director Julius Avery has good ideas and is obviously skilled at creating a situation where his actors can flourish. Turns out, that is not enough. His is a heist film, a prison film, a redemption film, and a love story without any of the rewards of any of those genres. By not committing, Avery has doomed his movie to ambiguity. We meet JR (Brenton Thwaites) as a new prisoner at a high security prison. Here, he meets Brendan Lynch (Ewan McGregor), a convict with a bad reputation. JR becomes indebted to Lynch after he is saved from a prison attack and then JR helps Lynch break out. You would think that would make the two even, but JR is yoked to Lynch for the remainder of the film. It does not take a genius to figure out that the two will at some point oppose each other. The prison scenes are reminiscent of last year’s scorching Jack O’Connell-vehicle Starred Up; without the complex family dynamic and troubling reflections on the prison system, of course. You could go through Son of a Gun pointing to influences like this left and right. Pick any heist film or any movie where a good-hearted boy has a deadly father figure. All those inspirations stuck to a certain theme and have since been rewarded with imitation from directors like Avery. I am afraid Son of a Gun will garner no such flatteries. | Director: Julius Avery Starring: Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaites Writer: Julius Avery |
It is a shame, really. In the brief moments where Avery does stick to a theme or a genre, his film sores. Take the gold heist that centers the movie. We have the planning scene, the wonderfully-tense heist, and the speedy getaway. Each of those elements rewards the viewer, especially the car chase that concludes the section. It’s just enough excitement to make you wish the forty minutes that came before and after followed a similar trajectory. No such luck. After the heist, it takes a turn into betrayal territory and after that, on-the-run territory. We are never allowed to sink into a groove; the storytelling rhythms are just all over the place.
Even with the movie flopping here and there, Avery’s skilled cast always manage to stay true to their characters. Ewan McGregor is best in class, of course. The Scottish actor has made a career out of keeping his audience on his toes and always upping his game - he’s playing Jesus AND the Devil in his next film. Even in a film plagued by mediocrity and indecisiveness, McGregor is always searching for the human beneath the hardened criminal.
Following him is Thwaites, though I would not exactly say “close behind.” Thwaites has yet to film a “star-making” performance; all of his films to date have been plagued with their problems, including this one. In the past two years, he has starred in Oculus, Maleficent, The Giver, and The Signal. It’s a good mix: a Disney hit, a YA book adaptation, a low-budget indie. He has a good pace going; and it is worth noting that he was not the problem in any of those films, nor is the problem with Son of a Gun. If he is ever a little blank-faced, he’s doing the best he can with a fairly one-dimensional character. I hope for the best for him, though I do not believe his next film - the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean - will change anything I have said.
I’m also not giving up on Avery. As I said in the beginning, the man has some good ideas. The fact that he constructed that thrilling heist midsection alone proves to me that he has something to offer. Whatever he cooks up next, I will surely be watching.
(Available on iTunes)
Even with the movie flopping here and there, Avery’s skilled cast always manage to stay true to their characters. Ewan McGregor is best in class, of course. The Scottish actor has made a career out of keeping his audience on his toes and always upping his game - he’s playing Jesus AND the Devil in his next film. Even in a film plagued by mediocrity and indecisiveness, McGregor is always searching for the human beneath the hardened criminal.
Following him is Thwaites, though I would not exactly say “close behind.” Thwaites has yet to film a “star-making” performance; all of his films to date have been plagued with their problems, including this one. In the past two years, he has starred in Oculus, Maleficent, The Giver, and The Signal. It’s a good mix: a Disney hit, a YA book adaptation, a low-budget indie. He has a good pace going; and it is worth noting that he was not the problem in any of those films, nor is the problem with Son of a Gun. If he is ever a little blank-faced, he’s doing the best he can with a fairly one-dimensional character. I hope for the best for him, though I do not believe his next film - the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean - will change anything I have said.
I’m also not giving up on Avery. As I said in the beginning, the man has some good ideas. The fact that he constructed that thrilling heist midsection alone proves to me that he has something to offer. Whatever he cooks up next, I will surely be watching.
(Available on iTunes)