Faults (2014)

Some things I liked some I did not.

Better Late Then Never

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Ansel is giving a presentation about cults at a hotel. At the start of the movie, He believes he is entitled to a free meal in exchange for the presentation, but his scam doesn't work. Also, he is being kicked out of the hotel because the free room he was promised was just for one night, and yet he still has to give the presentation. This means staying in his car once the presentation is over.Paul and Evelyn attend the presentation. Knowing Ansel is an expert on cults, they ask him to get their daughter Claire out of a cult. In exchange for a free meal, he listens, but of course it will cost them thousands of dollars for him to do his job, and even then there is no guarantee. Meanwhile, photographer Terry, who is his business manager, expects Ansel to pay him a lot of money which he owes. Mick, who has a really sophisticated accent and an uppity personality, is sent to Ansel with a document detailing exactly what Ansel must do. Ansel's money problems stem from his divorce, in which the ex got the proceeds from his first book. His second book is not selling,Ansel hires goons to find and kidnap Claire. She is taken to a motel where Paul and Evelyn are in the next room, and so the process begins. Claire is unaware her parents are next door, but Ansel assures her he is his friend and she won't be hurt by his goons as long as she cooperates. With her newfound religious faith, Claire is able to resist demands for her to go back to her old life. She refuses to be called Claire as that is just the person she was before and the other person occupying her body. Time, the physical body, gender and other concepts have become meaningless. However, Ansel comes across as being like a psychologist who is only trying to understand his patient. It's not like what I would believe "deprogramming" to be. And while he could be taking advantage of her, as her parents are afraid he is, he is respectful.Eventually, Claire discovers her parents are in the next room, and they have brought her clothes which she is reluctant to wear because they are her old life (I question those short shorts, given how conservative her father is, but she does look good in them). She is happy to see her parents but protests when she is called "Claire". Still, signs are there that Claire may come back to her old life.With Terry still demanding his money, Ansel asks Paul for half his fee. Paul protests, but Ansel doesn't want to be visited by Terry's goons, and he delivers the money to Terry, who seems nice but shows another side entirely. Meanwhile, things don't go as planned back at the motel. So what we have to ask is whether Ansel will be able to return Claire to her old life. Will Ansel succeed in his life? Will he at least be able to pay Terry?I couldn't say what happens at the end if I wanted. Well, I could, but I couldn't explain it.The movie may have been made in 2014, but the TVs in the motel have channel changers that go "clunk, clunk, clunk". I miss those. In this digital era, those would not be possible. Also, somehow, the TV plays a VHS tape. I didn't see the VCR, but we see a tape of a TV episode where Ansel takes advantage of a victim of a cult, making money and getting famous by showing the world her emotions. This is a very complicated movie. The summary that came with my TiVo listings called it "drama, thriller, suspense". They forgot comedy. At least for the movie's first half, it is quite obvious that we are supposed to laugh, even though the humor is quite dark and disturbing. Ansel's goons are funny. Well, one of them, anyway. Leland Orser is definitely funny, but comes across as quite intelligent when he finally shows he knows what he is doing. Mostly Ansel is a moron, but Orser , on the other hand, really knows what he is doing even then. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who has done a great job in several roles where I have seen her, does a fantastic job here. No, she's not really funny in most scenes (though she is when she gets flirty), but she doesn't have to be. I would call her scared and submissive in the early scenes, but there is a strength and confidence that come through, based on her faith in this quirky religion. Later on she is the one who is clearly strong and confident, in the sense we usually see these qualities, and she seems to be examining and treating Ansel, as if she is the psychiatrist and he is the patient. In a more popular movie, such a performance might get an Oscar nomination. The parents are pretty much what one would expect. Once he feels he is being taken advantage of, the father becomes very demanding and threatening. The mother is more pleasant. It's not family friendly and it wouldn't be expected to be, but aside from a few bleeped words and one entire scene where the sound goes out, I guess it's not so bad. It is a worthy effort.

I admit it...love MEW, the main character, name escapes me, always does a good job as well, so I thought I'd catch this even though I feel the deprogramming a cult member has been done more than enough. But this has a nice turn, an unlikeable protagonist, and it doesn't lay it all out for you, you actually have to figure a few things out for yourself. Also, let's face it...MEW can do ANYTHING...she's amazing. Give it a go, I predict you'll tell others to catch it.

So far, "Fault" has all positive reviews on IMDb. I cannot imagine this will continue now that it's just debuted on Netflix's streaming service here in the States. I found the film disturbing and unpleasant.When the movie starts, it's a comedy. A complete loser named Ansel (Leland Orser) is doing crappy workshops where he talks about cults and cult deprogramming. He's darkly funny to watch and I enjoyed the film...so far.The plot then thickens. A set of parents inexplicably recruit this idiot to deprogram their daughter who's been caught up in a cult called "Fault". He and some recruits kidnap her and take her to a motel room....and the comedy completely vanishes. The film becomes confusing here, as you really have no idea where it's going. Ultimately, the film becomes VERY dark and nasty...and I was left feeling like two separate films had been spliced together. And, as a result I also felt cheated. A funny dark comedy just became dark and nasty...and unfun to say the least.

I was very impressed with this film. We follow a down and out Cult novelist who specializes in understanding the methodology of how cults control individuals. The novelist is divorced, homeless, broke, suicidal and in debt with some very nasty former business partner when we meet him. When two parents approach him desperate for help, he agrees to help them with an extreme intervention with their cult involved daughter. The goal is to deprogram her. Arranging a kidnapping, he abducts the girl and isolates her in a motel room for days attempting to mentally break her down and understand her cult programing. It was engaging and completely unpredictable. I'm not totally satisfied how the story concluded but found the entire ride fun and intriguing.