Directed by: Mark Wilson Written by: Chris Retts Genre: Drama |
Wade In The Water
'Our man' works from home correcting mistakes with medical billing and is the typical cliche young, lazy, adult. Not the best housekeeper, friend, or anything really. 'Our man' lives alone and in the true spirit of making a point in the film, doesn't even have a proper name. Taken from the synopsis itself, sure, our man has a name but never gives it. This is the character Tom E. Nicholson plays in Wade In The Water, and he plays it so well.
This is a person that has been left behind at some point, by everyone, and he's angry at the world but doesn't quite know how to fix things so instead, he sits high in his own castle and belittles anyone and everyone who inhabits the space around him. This includes a postal worker, the cook at a burger joint, and pretty much everyone in his life. He even has a shrink that he's required to see in order to stop from going to prison, but he doesn't say all that much to her. When collecting his mail one sunny day 'Our Man' receives a package that was put into his mailbox by mistake. Being the type of guy that he is, later on, he decides to open it and finds a DVD with folders containing the heading: Nudes. Excited, he opens the pictures and what he finds is horrifying. The DVD contains child pornography and in a justifiable fit, 'Our Man' breaks the DVD. We later find out that as a child, 'Our Man' was sexually abused by his father, which explains a lot about the person he has become; but the story doesn't end here. Not by a long shot. 'Our Man' decides to do a little recon, and soon finds that the person that this package was supposed to go to, is a priest who has been known to do this kind of thing before. Because our man is so outraged, he decides to take law into his own hands and kills the priest. It's only when the priest's daughter finds out who he is, that this film really takes off and becomes a title about emotion, justification, and taking responsibility. It's all handled very well making Wade In The Water one of the better micro-budget titles I've seen this year. This title is about redirection. The DVD Rom containing the pornography acts as the perfect excuse for 'Our Man' to try and better himself, and his life. Even if it is to do something dastardly. In his eyes, and many others I imagine, he is the hero of this story and deserves a medal as he states himself. But very quickly, this title begins exploring the consequences of vigilante justice. The impact 'Our Man' has on the family of the pedophile. They didn't do anything and they are the ones who have to endear the suffering and pain. Wade In The Water, explores what happens next. The feelings of 'Our Man' and his belief that he has done no harm, and the daughter, Tilly ( Danika Golombek ) dealing as best as she can. She understands 'Our Man's' motivation, but can't forgive so easily because the man she knew was her father, not a pedophile. It all makes for a very dramatic film, with a fresh twist on the content. Working with a great script from Chris Retts, director Mark Wilson has done a great job with this title. The acting is excellent, the production is handled nicely and simply put, this is a really good film. Wade In The Water is further proof that you don't need fifty million bucks to create a great movie. Clearly, Wade In The Water is recommended viewing. |
