Frailty (2002)
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."
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Brilliant and touching
if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
It was boring and never scary. I don't understand why this father would randomly assume everyone's a demon. It was religious, but it wasn't scary or paced well. They were doing God's work, but were they good or bad? When I saw it in the theater, I was looking forward to it, but it seems unfocused and not memorable.
I always felt this film was a bit of a hidden treasure! A unique take of what could be classed as serial killing. Love the concept, a film you should never leave half way, commit to the full story or nothing at all. It has warranted many viewings for me, since 2001.
The good: Surprisingly good storytelling. At first I thought this would be yet another by-product of 90´s thriller epidemic but it is engaging against all odds, a page-turner indeed. It takes its time and, slowly but firmly, events unfold without noticing the time. It´s low-key and creepier than I expected and the father-son conflict is brilliant. Very good casting. Bill Paxton (the dad) is very convincing. The boy is excellent too, even the FBI agent was a great choice. The bad: The twist and ending turns what could have been a terrific creepy crime drama into a generic tv movie. Matthew McCounaughey is one of the few actors who can pull off an interesting voice over, but it still is a cheap voice over. Everything about "touching demons" just stinks. The ugly: No matter how well done the first hour is, it probably deserves being overlooked.
This was a good film until it was ruined by a twist ending, and not even an honest twist ending, but a cheating one. It took a great film and used a hackneyed device and ruined it. I don't know why they couldn't just trust they plot to play itself out. I also thought the form of the father's madness was a bit too predictable and not terribly realistic. The lead character's performance was very good. RIP Bill Paxton and Powers Boothe.