Winged Creatures

I love ensemble dramas. Especially when they have the whole "stranger's lives intertwined" thing going on. However, as much as I enjoyed this film, it is not for everyone.

It is slow and heavy, but I can't find much wrong with it. There were a couple of scenes that were poorly developed or written, maybe. All in all, if you're like me, and you like superbly acted and directed films you will enjoy this.

I won't give too much away because I know many have not had the chance to see this yet; it is a simple story of how random lives are affected and forever changed by a pointless and tragic event.

What I liked is how each individual was affected differently. Each character acted and reacted in a different way, and it is watching these behaviors play out that make up the film.

I felt Kate Beckinsale stood out the most in a subtle role. She is going to win an Oscar someday. Of course Forest Whitaker and Dakota Fanning were good, which at this point goes without saying. (Maybe I should erase that last sentence then.) Jush Hutcherson and Jackie Earl Haley, as father and son also stood out. Troy Garity, as the county mental health worker was my favorite though. Again, a subtle performance and the one character I keep thinking about afterward.

This film won't win awards or break any new ground but I like it. It's a small movie about human behavior and getting through tough times and coming out the other end of the tunnel, with a bit of light breaking through.

There are quite a few very good actors in the movie and everyone in it delivers a stellar performance. The story is intriguing enough to hold your attention and be entertaining at the same time. But as another reviewer also stated, it does have a few flaws, that might actually let the movie down for you.

First of all, you shouldn't start comparing it to "Crash" or other movies (especially because it most likely is only the same as those movies mood-wise), but take it for what it is. Of course many different actors means many different stories to tell. Therefor leaving a few stories with less focus than the other (at least that might be the way you absorb and feel the movie).

Still, if Drama is your cup (of tea/coffee), than go ahead and give it a try. You can't go completely wrong with that I'd say

This film smacks of being made by folk who think they have very high IQ's. It is a very pretentious little bit of film making that attempts to examine what it is like to survive an act of uncommon violence in an urban setting. Many people do survive acts of violence in urban settings and usually the common consensus is that they are glad they survived instead of feeling nothing in particular, which is more or less how this film portrays the survivors, who immediately engage in recalcitrant acts that cross the line into outright criminality after about 24 hours passes from the initial incident. This is bad film making. The characters are stupid. Forest Whitaker is particularly ridiculous in this one. There is no way you would even want to identify with the characters in this movie. Really, it is that bad. I found myself thinking, they survived-so what-they are all morons. Avoid it.

FRAGMENTS (AKA Winged Creatures) is an uncomfortable movie: the subject matter of spontaneous unsuspected violence and the subsequent impact on the lives of those who survive a near death situation is terrifying. FRAGMENTS takes a moment in time and then reveals how that moment alters the psyche and behavior of numerous people from children to adults. It is disconcerting to watch, but at the same time it makes us face the possibilities of how isolated cracks in the universe can alter our lives. As the tag line suggests 'You have to lose your way to find it.'

The film opens with a day in a Los Angeles diner where a gunman enters and randomly opens fire on the customers at the tables and the staff serving them and then kills himself. We are forced to watch this happen but through the eyes of the people attempting to dodge the attack. Among these are a waitress (Kate Beckinsale), a man seated at the counter being denied attention as he glances at his new brochures on dealing with cancer (Forest Whitaker), a doctor (Guy Pearce), a young girl (Dakota Fanning) who witnesses the murder of her father, a young boy (Josh Hutcherson) whose terror results in his becoming mute, among others. The film then abruptly clips to the fragments that remain - the lives as being lived by the survivors as well as their families - a cast of brilliant cameos by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jackie Earle Haley, Robin Weigert, Jennifer Hudson and Embeth Davidtz. While none of the characters seem to be people about whom we would care under normal circumstances, the fact that the writer and director (Roy Freier and Rowan Woods) have placed us in the midst of the initial incident allows us to watch the strange transformations that happen to these people as a result of being struck by post traumatic stress - maladaptive behavior toward spouses and children, hiding behind becoming an instant religious zealot, gambling as a disease, and the other splinters the impact of murder and suicide observed at close range can cause. Very little is resolved by film's end but the film does force us to witness something that could happen to any of us and make us re-evaluate our values and abilities to cope with trauma. This is an ensemble cast film, strongly projected, and if the producers and creators of the film merely allowed us more time to get to know each character better the film probably would have been a success in the theaters instead of going straight to DVD. A provocative work. Grady Harp

In an ordinary day, a deranged man has a rampage in a diner and randomly shoots the costumers. The survivors of the tragic episode are deeply affected by the shooting and have the most different reactions: the youngster Anne Hagen (Dakota Fanning) becomes popular at school telling her version of the shooting and shows a great faith on God; her friend Jimmy Jaspersen (Josh Hutcherson) becomes mute and closes himself to the outer world like an autist; the waitress Carla Davenport (Kate Beckinsale) neglects her baby and has a vulgar behavior with men; Dr. Bruce Laraby (Guy Pearce) loses his self-confidence and tries an experimental treatment to the migraine of his wife; and the compulsive gambler Charlie Archenault (Forrest Whitaker) believes that he is lucky in the game and gambles all his money but he has a jinx.

"Winged Creatures" is a depressing movie about the aftermath of an urban violence that every now and then happens in North America – shooting in a public space. There are rich characters developed in a short running time that deserved a longer time to explain their motives better. The bleak experiment of Dr. Bruce Laraby with his wife is weird and bizarre, and it is hard to understand his motives. Why Carla neglects her baby is also very strange since the viewer does not know her behavior at home before the tragic incident. Charlie deserves his fate since he is an addicted gambler. However the kids Jimmy and Anne are perfectly developed and have the best drama in the story, with a heartbreaking conclusion. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Efeito da Fúria" ("The Effect of the Fury")