A review of “Rudderless” (2014): a guest review on One Mann’s Movies by Manoj Mistry.
Dr Bob: This is the first time I’ve welcomed a guest reviewer to include an article on this site, but Manoj expressed an interest in writing retrospective reviews for older films. (If anyone else out there would like to write a review – in this standard prescribed format – for submission then please enquire at bobthemovieman1@gmail.com ).
Introduction
Intro
It’s no surprise that I had never heard of this little gem before. With a $5m budget and a limited cinema release, bringing in a little over $0.5m at the box office, this one probably fell under the radar of most. From time to time, rather than browsing for a movie, I’ll pick an actor or a director that I really like and take a look at their filmography. It was refreshing then, when I searched for William H. Macy to find his directorial debut with “Rudderless”. Macy actually spent a year reworking Twenter & Robinson’s screenplay, so I assumed this was a project he put his heart into in the same way that I felt Sofia Coppola approached “Lost in Translation”, though they are very different films.
I’ve always liked Billy Crudup and think he is an under-rated actor, from his movies like “Almost Famous”, “The Good Shepherd”, “Spotlight” and “Watchmen”, so the Macy/Crudup combo made this a must watch for me. Crudup is usually a supporting actor so it was great to see him in a leading role.
Manoj Rating:
Plot Summary:
A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son’s demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC: “Strong language”).
Talent:
Starring: Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez, Laurence Fishburne, Miles Heizer
Directed by: William H. Macy
Written by: Casey Twenter, Jeff Robinson & William H. Macy
A young Selena Gomez with Billy Crudup. (Source: Unified Pictures).
“Rudderless” Review:
Positives:
- The segues from the moment Sam’s son dies to the state of his life 2 years later is very well done in the first 15 minutes, leaving the rest of the movie focused on Sam’s personal journey, keeping the running time to under 2 hours.
- Billy Crudup’s versatility as an actor shines through in this movie, where he plays a very successful corporate executive and a loner devoid of the emotional effects of his predicament in equally believable measure. He also sings the songs himself. He plays the various stages of Sam’s journey through the aftermath of his son’s death very well. The trauma is only revealed later in the film, so much of his acting chops come later. But its worth the wait.
- There are some funny moments scattered throughout this movie, which balances out a very heavy-hitting subject matter and they work very well, never detracting from or diminishing Sam’s plight.
- It’s great to see Anton Yelchin (who is probably best known for playing Chekhov in the later Star Trek films) in a dramatic role. He brings many of the lighter moments playing a fan of Sam’s music (Quentin), with aspirations to form a duo.
- William H. Macy plays a small role as Trill, the proprietor of the bar where Sam plays. Always good to see him on the screen.
- Although the music is not a genre I usually listen to, the songs were well performed and I enjoyed them.
- A young Selena Gomez plays Kate, the girlfriend of Sam’s deceased son. She only has a few lines and you can see the transition starting between a teen TV star and a film actor.
Negatives:
- To me this is not really a negative, but the film does take us into the 2nd half to reveal the circumstances of Sam’s life-changing events and it’s not until almost 90 minutes have passed that we see Sam’s reaction to it. The first half to three-quarters of the film may make some viewers feel as if the character is devoid of the emotions we would expect from this man, but there’s a reason why he is the way he is and it is only revealed at the 90 minute mark – some audiences may not have the patience for that wait.
Triggers:
I didn’t want to reveal the plot in too much detail as I felt it would be too big a spoiler, but as the online synopses reveal that the main character (Sam) loses his son in a University shooting, I think I can reveal that here as this could be a trigger for someone reading this review.
Summary Thoughts on “Rudderless”
This is a film that takes a very big problem in the US and shines a different light on it. It looks at the humanity in horrendous situations and draws it out. I can imagine that this would be very hard viewing for victim’s families.
There are so many themes that are played out in this movie; guilt, blame, nihilism in the face of the horrors of life, what it is to be a parent who loses a child in extraordinary circumstances. It’s a deep movie that keeps you wondering why the protagonist is not more affected by the tragedy and then hits you over the head with the effect much later in the movie. It’s debatable if it would have been better to tackle the catharsis earlier in the film. Had it done so, would the catharsis that comes later have evoked a lesser emotional effect? I think so. The technique reminds me of “Still Life” starring Eddie Marsan, which is another gem that back-loads the emotional effect of the subject matter later in the film, using most of the film as the set-up to create the effect in a more pronounced way.
I gave this 4 out of 5 rather than 5 because I felt that the effect I interpreted might be too late for certain viewers to stay the course, considering the attitude of the protagonist in light of the circumstances in the first three quarters of the running time
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Trailer for “Rudderless”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGBVnURPuOg .
