Film review: 'Snitch' a well-made yarn about the drug world

[poledriver]

Film review: 'Snitch' a well-made yarn about the drug world

LOS ANGELES - Although it sometimes accompanies fine films such as "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Argo," the phrase "inspired by a true story" tacked onto the front of a movie too often warns you that you're about to see something "inspiring" in the most hackneyed, triumph-of-the-human-spirit sort of way.

What's surprising about "Snitch" is that, rather than taking the reductive path of offering innocuous emotional uplift or one-man-army action, it generates a feeling of real desperation and fear as it shows a man getting in way over his head when he takes on some very bad guys. In other words, this is a pretty good film starring an actor named Dwayne Johnson, not a commodity with The Rock as a hood ornament.

This movie's main commercial hopes still rest with the mainstream action crowd - which likely will be satisfied despite the film's refusal to dish out doses of bodily harm like clockwork - but for Johnson, this could broaden the perception of the sorts of roles he can play as he pushes into his 40s.

Directed with intensity by longtime stuntman Ric Roman Waugh ("Felon"), "Snitch" takes its dramatic opportunities seriously and not just as an excuse for brutal confrontations between drug dealers and assorted thugs. The "inspiring" part lies in the fact that a father, John Matthews (Johnson), is willing to go to the absolute limit to prevent his teenage son Jason (Rafi Gavron) from serving 10 years in prison under mandatory-sentencing laws for having made one stupid mistake. The involving part is how he goes about it: getting entangled with some very unsavory characters while trying to preserve a vestige of his morality and remain alive.

Inspired by a "Frontline" report about an aspect of the law that allows for reduced time in exchange for informing on drug dealers, the script by Justin Haythe ("Revolutionary Road," "The Clearing") and Waugh follows a familiar-feeling template but goes deep enough with character detail and legal issues to set it apart from standard-issue drug- and crime-related films. Jason gets sent away for ill-advisedly accepting delivery of a box full of Ecstasy as a sort-of favor for a friend and also in order to try it with his girlfriend.

Unwilling to rat his buddy out, the terrified, physically unprepossessing Jason is tossed into the pen, where he'll be as defenseless as a rabbit in a foxhole. His resentful mother (Melina Kanakaredes) lashes out at John, her ex, while the only solution offered by politically hungry U.S. Attorney Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) is for Jason to offer evidence against some other drug dealer, but he truly doesn't have any.

The biggest dramatic leap the film imposes is that John, a straight-arrow guy who runs a shipping company but suffers guilt over having been a deficient dad post-divorce, would conceive of and then persuade the attorney to accept a plan under which he himself would deliver drug dealers to her in exchange for his son's freedom. Keeghan expresses the same dubiousness the audience might feel, but once John gets the green light, you can feel the sweat and inner turmoil begin to simmer, as he's no better-suited than Homer Simpson to figure out how to go about this. John's formidable physique and straight-shooter personality might serve him well in most situations, but they have little bearing given his new challenges.

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[23536]

The flaw of this movie for me is that it asks me to sympathize with a snitch. It's like an Israeli being asked to like Paradise Now.

 

[HighonLife]

^^ i know nothin of the movie aside from the commercials n this article but the way it reads is that the main dude doesnt snitch cuz he doesnt know who to snitch on n that you arent sympathizing with a snitch so much as sympathizing with a family struggling to stay together amidst drug war persecusion and a vigilante father attempting to take down drug dealers in order to help his sons cause

im not down with anti drug vigilanteism and like i said i dont really know much about the movie so you may be correct but despite the title it doesnt seem to be so much about a snitch as it is about someone attempting to lessen a MMS without snitchin

i dunno, could be a good movie or it could be a bust. The Rock was my shit growin up watchin wrestlin but dwayne johnsons movie are 'hit n miss' AT BEST but this one lookes decent

 

[poledriver]

Johnson softens up as a father stuck between a rock and a hard place

Snitch is based on an interesting idea. When an 18-year-old boy is busted with 2000 ecstasy pills, his desperate father goes into the drug world to find a bigger fish. He must snitch on someone higher up to save his son from 30 years in an American prison.
The reason it's interesting is that it is true. Since the US passed mandatory sentences for federal drug offences, trading up names in return for lower sentences has become standard practice. The problem is that the system has unforeseen effects. The big players don't tend to get caught, and if they do, they have plenty of people below them to snitch. An 18-year-old who makes a mistake may not have anyone to trade up.

The system rewards the guiltiest parties and incarcerates the minnows, often for a long time.

The story is inspired by a documentary broadcast in 1999 on the PBS program Frontline. That case involved 18-year-old Joey Settembrino, who received 10 years for trying to sell 2000 LSD pills. A friend had asked him to buy the pills; when the friend was arrested, he gave them Joey's name, so the police were waiting when he delivered. Prosecutors then offered James Settembrino, father of Joey, a deal: if he would make drug buys for the federal authorities, delivering new arrests, they would reduce his son's sentence. The son had already refused a similar deal.

In an interview on the PBS website, James Settembrino, an otherwise respectable businessman, details the harrowing lengths he went to trying to free his son. If anything, his story is more powerful and troubling than the one we see here. Details have been changed to protect the famous - in this case, producer and star Dwayne Johnson, who plays the father.

This is probably the best movie that Dwayne Johnson (the artist formerly known as The Rock) has done, and his best performance. Notice that I do not see it as a great movie, just better than most of the rubbish he has made. Johnson has limited acting ability, but lots of charisma. He appeals to those who like their stars outsize and virtuous. Most of his films rely on gross sentiment. This one is different: the sentiment is not gross, just thick.
The seriousness of its intent and the calibre of its supporting cast make it watchable, and Johnson benefits from the higher goals. He is one of the producers, which shows that he wants to do better movies.

His character, John Matthews, runs a successful haulage business in middle America. Susan Sarandon plays ambitious US attorney Joanne Keeghan, who wants headlines and convictions. Barry Pepper, wearing a beanie and Fu Manchu beard, is a federal undercover agent. Matthews turns to one of his employees, Daniel James, an ex-con trying to go straight. He doesn't tell him why he needs an introduction to a drug kingpin. As James, Jon Bernthal gives the strongest performance of the movie.
The best thing about Snitch is what's left of Justin Haythe's original script. With inexorable logic, he shows us how systems become ruthless to deal with ruthless crime. Matthews has to make terrible choices, risking other people's lives. Daniel James also has a son; one more conviction and this man goes to jail forever.

This could have been a terrific film, but not with this director. Ric Roman Waugh (Felon), originally a stuntman, has come through the ranks as an action director, but he struggles with the bits in between the action. Most of the film is shot hand-held, in the nausea-inducing unsteady-cam style of today and mostly in close-up. Characters don't appear, they loom. The constant music is mixed so high the film feels nervous instead of suspenseful. Even so, there is juice in this situation and these characters. Waugh manages not to lose that. An introduction to a tripod would make him a better director.

A better film would also require a more confident actor. Johnson holds the reins here. Waugh's task is to make him look good: heroic, caring, credible. All stars require that to some degree, even the ones with more chops. Johnson may be capable of more dramatic expression, but he'd have to share the reins to find out. It's clear his ambition is growing, but it's short of the risk-taking that produces great movies.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment...-hard-place-20130508-2j7vy.html#ixzz2TA2Y3UI7

 

[23536]

A better film would also require a more confident actor. Johnson holds the reins here. Waugh's task is to make him look good: heroic, caring, credible. All stars require that to some degree, even the ones with more chops. Johnson may be capable of more dramatic expression, but he'd have to share the reins to find out. It's clear his ambition is growing, but it's short of the risk-taking that produces great movies.

He's definitely no Schwarzenegger.

Conan the Barbarian demonstrates the correct way to film a big musclehead. Arnold hardly speaks; the director lets his face and body do the speaking. One of the best movies ever made. Watch it now.