Review of Undertow (1930) by Nick A — 20 Feb 2009

'Undertow', director David Gordon Green's third feature-length film, is a fierce tale of violence, greed, brotherly love, and forgiveness. The film marks a change in direction for Green, as he switches gears from quietly honest, very personal subject matter to ferocious, aggressive material. Yet, not surprisingly, he does so elegantly while maintaining the cadence and visual attentiveness that made him the distinctive artist that he is.

Up-and-coming young star Jamie Bell (who'd have a role in 2005's 'King Kong') plays Chris Munn, a defiant, though very independent teenager who lives in seclusion with his younger, sickly brother, Tim (Devon Alan), and their father, John (Dermot Mulroney). All is well (or at least typical) in the Munn family household until Deel (played tremendously by Josh Lucas, whose character blimps into a balloon of tension, ready to pop at any moment), John's criminal brother, arrives, setting in motion the film's subsequent events, brutal and shocking as they prove to be, which are motivated by the greedy prospect of wealth (in the form of looted Mexican gold) and the resentful feelings of past disputes between the two.

'Undertow' is a powerful and provocative allegory of forgiveness, for, throughout its duration, each character's fate is directly matched by his own ability to forgive and/or understand that with mercy comes absolution. The film's script, by rookie Joe Conway, is stressed fervently through the forcefully delivered dialogue and lushly captured natural landscapes (which strike a calculated resemblance to the earlier works of Terrence Malick, who produced the film). And yet, somehow, 'Undertow' deflates in its second half, glimpsing down a path toward another of Green's streaming coming-of-age tales; and it's largely due to the movie's structure, which beholds the story's pounding climax at its half-way point. But, after walking that path for a small amount of time, Green wisely redirects and ends his grievous odyssey with the bang he started it with.

'Undertow' is a mostly rapturous work (which also includes an unyeilding score, remarkably distressing), shedding light on a corner of American cinema toward which few eyes tend to veer. David Gordon Green has become the poster boy for independent artworking, stealing the crown from Gus Van Sant and owing much of his success to the road paved by Malick, whose first feature, 'Badlands', is evident in most every scene of 'Undertow', from the young, forbidden love that commences it to the murderous incidents that take place in it. A superbly-acted, remorseless yarn of blood, hope and tragedy, 'Undertow' will surely suck you in and won't let you go for quite some time.