Undertow - Im Sog der Rache

David Gordon Green's third film is more conventionally plotted than his previous "All the Pretty Girls" but it has his very distinctive earthy and poetic style that makes the film dreamy and beautiful without being "pretty-pretty". Based on the real story, "Undertow" tells about a father and his two sons who live in a rural backwoods Georgia. The father is a lonely man; the older son is a rebel, and the young one has some health problems. One day, a long lost Uncle Deel shows up, and the lives of four of them are changed forever. This film is a successful combination of the family drama and "South Gothic Thriller". It brings to mind such classics of the cinema as "Night Hunter" and the writings of Mark Twain and Brothers Grimm as well as the ancient legends and myths. The best about the film are its stunning cinematography and performances by Jamie Bell as Chris Munn, the older boy and Josh Lucas as Deel Munn, the boys' uncle whom they never knew.

I recently saw this film after seeing Green's George Washington. While that film was interesting it wasn't fantastic...Undertow is fantastic and more. The plot is simple enough, just a story about two boys and their father living in the backwoods of America when their world is interrupted. The boys' uncle comes to visit, recently out of prison, and life quickly changes for them all and the true beauty of this film comes out. Where many movies fail is in focusing too heavily on the main characters or the action of the story. Undertow makes no such mistakes. In between the more intense scenes we are introduced to the world around our heroes. We meet fully developed characters each of whom could easily fill a movie of their own. Rather than creating a world for us to watch, Green has instead allowed us into a living, breathing world as observers. We don't get explanations for everything, only what we see on the screen. Miraculously, none of these characters slow down the film. They add humor or romance or suspense before we are snapped back to the main story. On top of all that the film is beautifully shot, perfectly acted/cast and the music fits the moods in each scene. There is finally a movie that can thrill us, but still take time to make sure we care and believe in it's world. I cannot recommend it enough, you will not be disappointed.

I'm not sure what world Green will next allow us to enter, but I can't wait.

In the country of Drees County, the widow hard worker John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) lives in a simple rural isolated property with his rebel and troubled son Chris (Jamie Bell) and his sick son Tin (Devon Alan) and no friends. When his brother Deel Munn (Josh Lucas) unexpectedly arrives in his house on probation, John welcomes him. However, the real intentions of Deel lead the family to a tragedy, forcing the boys to leave home.

"Undertow" is a low paced movie, with a short story, great development of characters and excellent performances. There are no big surprises along the story and in spite of the introduction of the film inducing that it is based on a true event, I have not found any reference in Internet about this murder. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contra Corrente" ("Undertow")

Taking a pop-culture icon and flipping it on its head is a favorite pastime of young film directors. In 1986 David Lynch took his boy-scout memories and essentially, in his own words, sent "The Hardy Boys" to hell with "Blue Velvet." Likewise, with a bit of Terrance Malick inspired poeticism, director David Gordon Green sends the good old Duke Boys to hell with "Undertow." Josh Lucas is effectively menacing in a "Night of the Hunter" kind of way as the recently released from prison brother of the stoic Dermot Mulroney, who has secluded himself and his two sons from the rest of the world on a hog farm following the death of his wife (whom was previously involved with Lucas' character). Some family folklore involving a hidden stash of gold coins sends Lucas' ex-con on a rampage that ends with the tracking of the young brothers on the run through rural American Gothic hell on earth. There's a lot to fault in a film like this, but also a lot to treasure if you give it the time. Jamie Bell and Devon Alan as the two brothers are very convincing and easy to route for, and some directorial flourishes from Green and nice character acting from Lucas keep the film fresh and original even as it channels past classics from Malick ("Badlands"), Lynch ("Blue Velvet"), and the "Night of the Hunter." There's also a score from my favorite minimalist composer Philip Glass. All in all, not a bad way for a film buff to spend their evening.

I watched Undertow at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November 2004. I had previously heard nothing about the film and it was more or less a coincidence that made med watch it. It was a pleasant experience though.

Undertow is about two brothers living with their father in rural America. They live inside the woods since their father wants to keep away from other people. The oldest son, Chris, is a troubled kid almost always in trouble with the law. The youngest son has health problems. One day the fathers brother comes to visit, recently out of prison. He stays for a while before starting a new job. Soon though, there is trouble. Things happen and before long the two brothers are running from their uncle.

The story here is perhaps nothing you haven't seen before at one time or another. But it's well executed and the strange, almost surreal, mood of the film is well maintained throughout. What stands out though in my opinion is the acting. All the main characters are acted very well. Especially Jamie Bell is excellent as the oldest brother. Also Josh Lucas does a terrific job playing the boys' unpleasant uncle.

I wouldn't call this a masterpiece but it's well worth the watch. If for nothing else, then at least for the acting. It was one of the better films i saw at this years film festival, and i feel it's worth recommending. I rate it 6/10.