Manny Perez stars as Chuco, an ex-con released from prison after killing his wife. He tries to reconnect with his young son, Machito, who witnessed the murder of his mother and has been living on the streets ever since.
Set in Scranton, Pennsylvania this film will do little for the city's tourism industry. The filmmakers seem to have made a conscience effort to portray their city in an entirely different light than the Scranton seen on NBC's hit sitcom The Office. This city is not home to a motley crew of funny and quirky characters, but to gangsters, thugs, and lowlifes - a veritable Hell on Earth.
David Castro, as Chuco's young son, gives the role his all. He's too young to realize he should be phoning in his performance, saving his talent for a better movie. Throughout the film, Chuco feels entitled to his son's forgiveness; he doesn't do anything to earn that forgiveness, and actually ends up making the boy's life worse. Still, the screenplay wants us to root for Chuco - but only because he's the lead character, not because he redeems himself in any way or atones for his sins. Chuco is not a hero, he's an awful human being, but the movie excuses his behavior. Forged bills itself as a film about redemption - its not. The filmmakers are too lazy to actually ensure their movie has a point.
Kevin Breznahan, an actor best known for his bit roles in comedies, is an odd choice to play the film's heavy. With his helium-infused voice and fey demeanor, Breznahan is about as scary as a Teletubby. Margo Martindale, as Chuco's alcoholic mother, fares better. Still, one hopes she was actually intoxicated during her scenes; maybe she won't remember spouting out groaners like "A bitter tree can only grow bitter fruit!" Many scenes end with the lead characters staring dramatically into the distance, soap opera-like, searching for the profound dialog the script can not provide them with.
Director Will Wedig's previous credit was the zombie-flick 'Rise of the Dead.' Wedig should have continued working in the horror industry, a genre more forgiving of bad writing and poor direction. By tackling a serious drama, Wedig seems to have bitten off more than he can chew. In a truly tasteless bit of editing, the father's dalliance with a local prostitute is inter cut with a scene of the young boy whoring himself out to the town pedophile. Wedig fills the movie with some obvious symbolism, straight out of screen writing 101. The father and son are rebuilding a car at the same time they're rebuilding their relationship! In another scene, a man, sacrificing his own life, outstretches his arms and adopts a Christ-like pose. Get it? Throughout the movie you can literally feel Wedig nudging you in the ribs, making sure you don't miss any detail in his multi-layered "masterpiece." At a running time of only seventy-two minutes, Forged is barely feature length. The needlessly constant use of slow motion only serves to pad out the film's scant running time. Still, by the time the end credits roll, you'll have spent too much time with these characters and with this film.
