My Father Die

This movie hits me on a very personal level.

It resembles much of my relationship with my father. I never knew why my father started or why he couldn't stop drinking. I am certain that not many IMDb users can relate to violent childhood memories but this film goes beyond that.

The poetic voice-over, the spectacular scenery, resembles Terrence Malick's doing and the violence on a Black & White screen, punctuated at key points in the story, resembles Quentin Tarantino's work.

I don't have much to say about this gem, but that it captures how it feels to be born in a family with a violent past and how good men chose to make different decisions in life.

It's spot on. Uncomfortably so.

Yet beautiful.

Thank you, Sean Brosnan

Society is going down a drain.

Once again, another so called cult film resorting to human sewage to try and cause an emotional impact because, it seems, audiences are so desensitized that in order to keep them awake they have to be fed vile and despicable imagery.

I wonder what makes directors and writers to film a scene where a teenager masturbates while watching other teens having sex. How authorities allow this to happen? This is worse than porn because in porn the actors are not supposed to be underage.

After that, I could not stomach to sit through monstrosity. I fast forwarded pausing every now then to sample what was going on, and, of course, what one sees is a succession of human depravity, deviancy and the usual depiction of human misery.

Skip it. I believe watching a dead cat rot in an alley has more entertaining value than this aberration.

This film failed on so many levels, especially at delivering a single coherent thought.

Asher is deaf and mute, but he wasn't always it was his abusive father that caused it to him when he was twelve, around the same time that his pops killed his brother for reasons of a sexual jealousy nature.

Ivan – the father then has to do his time in the State Pen etc. We join them on Ivan's release and how Asher now all grown up, and bursting for revenge, has decided that his daddykins is a boil that needs lancing.

Now that is a brief synopsis and this is essentially a violent thriller that did well at Frightfest. I thought it was excellent, some have complained it to being a bit 'arty', never a problem in my book and it is violent and depraved and dirty and even existentialist but all in a contextual way.

This is written, directed and has a bit part for Sean Brosnan (son of Pierce) but this is no vanity project. I found the cinematography to be well thought through and the timing of the 'action' just spot on. The actors all do a brilliant job and the story itself is as griping as it can be repulsive, so all in all some feat to have made so many differing aspects work together and work so well – one I can recommend completely.

Greetings again from the darkness. Pre-judging movies is just something that naturally happens for frequent movie watchers, and a pleasant surprise can create a joyous experience. Such is the case with the feature film debut from Sean Brosnan (son of Pierce). With no shortage of entries into the Family Revenge-Action-Thriller genre, it takes something special to standout, and though it targets a (very) limited audience, those that give it a shot will likely be impressed.

It's the style that we notice from the opening black and white segment, where two brothers are hanging out and joking together as the older one offers up some typical teenager advice on "romance". An exceptionally brutal and violent attack leaves Chester (Chester Rushing) the older brother dead, and Asher (Gabe White) the younger brother deaf.

We flash forward to a time when Asher is an adult who takes care of his mother, and prepares for revenge against his father. That's right … the monster of a man responsible for the violence that changed the course of Asher's life was his own father. The pursuit of revenge is something we've seen on screen many times before, but it's the performances and the look of the film that make this one worth discussing. Joe Anderson stars as the adult Asher, and he conveys wide emotional swings with no dialogue. Instead, we are guided by the narration of his younger self – and this is some of the most poetic narration you'll find outside of a Terrence Malick movie. As terrific as Anderson is, and as much as we empathize with his character, it's Gary Stretch (former British boxer) as his father Ivan, who provides a villain so despicable that we find ourselves anxious and rooting for Asher's violent revenge.

There is mention that serving in Vietnam destroyed Ivan's soul, but it's rare to see a man with no conscience and one who is capable of such carnage. Director Brosnan offsets this creature with the black & white flashbacks, and creates a contrast of beauty vs brutality. It really messes with your head and emotions. Marc Shap is the cinematographer and he shows a wonderful eye for both nature (much of the film takes place on the bayou) and personal interactions (both calm and frenzied). The film also makes good use of sound – and no sound, both of which are effective.

Make no mistake, this is not an easy movie to watch and won't be to the taste of most. Violent revenge is not really condoned or condemned in the movie, but it seems clear that if you are taking that path, make sure you do it right the first time! Young Asher's narration tells us that "revenge is not noble, but it's human" … a sentiment that rings quite true. What's also true is that Sean Brosnan is an exciting new director to keep an eye on, and maybe the first ever to include a closing credits tribute to Irish playwright John Millington Synge.