The Settlement

I too enjoyed this film. It was just dark enough to make me question whether it was a drama or a comedy. I don't think this movie will ever make my top 100 list, but just as you cannot stop reading a good book, I couldn't stop watching this flick. It stayed within itself very well, which helped to make this a very solid and entertaining movie.

As I said to my girlfriend as we were going to bed after watching The Settlement, I thought the person to blame for the way Hollywood films are today is none other than the loveable and extremely talented Steven Spielberg. He raised the bar so high that it's almost mandatory that every film be a special FX extravaganza. Then along comes a film like The Settlement. There are no aliens, no genetically gargantuan shark, no lost religious artifacts to be uncovered. What it does have is great dialogue and a great relationship between the main characters. John C. Reilly and William Fitchner run a sleazy business of buying terminal illness patients's life-insurance policies. The patient gets some cash to fulfill they're dying dream and when they die the partners get the full amount of the policy. It's like making a business out of death pools. Disgusting as this is, it doesn't matter. The guys are extremely likeable and when they're business starts to falter, I found myself pulling for them as they have one last chance to get out of financial ruin. The other great thing about The Settlement is the use of irony between the main characters. In the beginning,John C. Reilly's character is the weak, pessimistic one and William Fitchner is the strong optimist, than through one of the twists in the film the roles are reversed! I thank Premier magazine for recommending this film and others that I plan on viewing in the near future. I highly recommend this film. It was definately one of the freshest and entertaining movies I've seen in a while.

Obviously this movie was shot on the cheap, however it IS an enjoyable one. William Fichtner is great in it but Kelly McGillis'... teeth are too visibly fake and gives me chills each time she smiles.

The movie has a few twists in the plot, but what I really liked is the reversal of roles between the two protagonists: in the beginning of the movie John C. Reilly is the 'wise guy' and Fichtner is the materialistic one, while at the end of the movie Fichtner's fear make him more careful of his choices while John C. Reilly becomes the "i want it all" guy that Fichtner used to be like.

I bought the DVD of this movie, but unfortunately was only shot in 4:3 format and it didn't have any extras. Also, the quality of the picture is not fantastic, it was obviously shot with cheaper machinery.

"The Settlement" gets out of the blocks quick exploring the contrasting philosophies of the leads, builds its unique premise into a clever story, and then runs out of gas turning into a very ordinary "give me the money or I'll shoot" flick in the end. At it's best, this angry film, which showcases a mere four actors, is only lukewarm. However, with the midstream good-bad guy switch and the unimaginative ending, the film fizzles. At this writing, "The Settlement" is where it belongs. On cable.

This gets a 10.0 to offset whatever misinformed voters took it down to a 5.0, and it is a solid 8.0 viewing experience no matter what. Anytime death is the motivation for monetary gain in a dark comedy, it is usually a winning combination (see "Eating Raoul"). "The Settlement" has a creative script, great chemistry between John C. Reilly and William Fichtner, and some of the darkest humor in any film. It's a scam, noir, murder, that delivers inspired dialog without any distraction from it's minor budget. Seek this one out if you admire true "black comedy". It most certainly will hold up to repeat viewings. As a matter of fact I can't wait to watch it again. - MERK