Rating of
3/4
Loved Brad Renfro
Franz Patrick - wrote on 12/05/08
It’s a shame that Brad Renfro passed away a week before Heath Ledger’s death because he really was a talented actor that could’ve blossomed as he grew older. Upon watching his other films (”Ghost World,” “The Jacket,” “Bully,” “Sleepers,” “Tom and Huck”), including this one, he does a really great job getting into his character–who usually is psychologically tormented in some way. In this picture, he stars along Ian McKellen, Joshua Jackson, and David Schwimmer. The way this picture unraveled was interesting and some of the scenes were downright terrifying, such as the cat scene and when the old man realizes something in the hospital. You never really know where the story is going to go so I was engaged throughout. Directed by Bryan Singer and based on a story by Stephen King, this neo-Nazi picture can be a bit lowkey at times but that’s a good thing because it doesn’t glorify Nazism. It has a nice commentary about brilliant people being damaged in some unfortunate way, which nicely tied to the story of Icarus. What I thought it could have done better were the scenes that involve Renfro and his parents. What made this astute kid so messed up? Was he merely curious or was it something more dynamic? Questions like that take blows to this film’s core because those are questions that could make or break the picture’s thesis. Still, this is a strong, consistently interesting movie that deserves to be watched carefully since the characters were subtle at times.
