Red

Jack Ketchum's brilliant novel tells the story of an elderly man Avery Ludlow,who has a dog named Red he loves more than life.A simple lonely man he has few good things in his life after losing family members tragically years before.On the day he takes his dog fishing with him,three young boys come along,rob him and shoot his dog for no reason. After this cold-blooded murder he tries to seek justice,but two of the boys are coming from a rich and powerful family.Each thing he tries is thwarted until he takes matters into his own hand.The climatic outburst of violence is inevitable..."Red" is a slow-moving and meditative drama punctuated with sudden explosions of violence.The acting by Brian Cox is phenomenal,the supporting cast is also splendid.Overall,"Red" is a sad and beautiful story about a man and his dead dog.Thank You very much Lucky McKee and Trygwe Aliester Disen for such powerful piece of work.I have seen "The Girl Next Door" and "The Lost",but "Red" is the best adaptation of Ketchum to date.I'm glad that I saw it in the cinema during 2008 Warsaw Film Festival.

After seeing the trailer for this a few weeks ago, I decided to read the source novel before going to the movie. Jack Ketchum's novel is a pretty taught thriller that stays very realistic in telling its tale of an old man's increasingly frustrating attempts to get justice for his senselessly murdered pooch, but the book does feature a gratuitous romantic entanglement and a final chapter that could have been completely excised with no loss of the story's narrative power; the final chapter goes on after the real climax to the story and is in fact more of an epilogue than a proper ending, but it unnecessarily gives the reader an all-too-tidy three-way happy ending with an incongruous bit of tragedy thrown in for good (?) measure. Thankfully the novel's problems were carefully considered and left out of the film, even to the point of losing or consolidating some of the minor characters with no harm done to the overall story.

This is a textbook example of exactly how to handle a novel-to-screen adaptation, and I'd wager that author Jack Ketchum is more than pleased with the translation. Brian Cox — always a consummate actor — turns in one of his best performances, and the whole cast is equally game, especially two of the boys involved in the attempted robbery and pet-slaying. And for those expecting a seventies-style vengeance flick filled with wall-to-wall guns-a-blazin', I'd advise you to check your expectations at the door. The pursuit of justice follows very legal steps until it's apparent that such an approach won't amount to anything, but even when it gets rough the story stays completely believable. One of the year's best films, and that's no lie.

While fishing in Miller's Band with his dog Red, the lonely widower and owner of a small general store Avery Ludlow (Brian Cox) is surrounded by three teenage thieves seeking money and without any reason, one of them shoots Red on the head. Avery investigates the empty cartridge and finds the owner of the shotgun Danny McCormack (Noel Fisher), his brother Harold (Kyle Gallner) and their friend Pete Doust (Shiloh Fernandez). Avery seeks out Danny's father Michael McCormack (Tom Sizemore) that is a corrupt businessman expecting excuses and punishment for the boys, but he finds an arrogant man that does not pay attention to his complaints about the cruelty of Danny to his dog. He decides to sue Danny using his friend and lawyer Sam Berry (Richard Riehle), but Mr. McCormack uses his political influence to obstruct justice. The reporter Carrie Donnel (Kim Dickens) makes a program for TV showing the cruelty of the offender and how justice does not work, but again Mr. McCormack affects her work. However, Avery does not give up of his quest for justice.

Yesterday I saw the trailer of "Red" and I liked what I saw, so I decided to watch this movie expecting to see a sort of "Death Wish". However the story is a powerful drama with a complex lead character performed by the veteran Brian Cox. In this regard, it is great to see the quest for justice of an old man against the corrupt system ruled by money and influence. The cast is superb, with Noel Fisher perfect in the role of the mean Danny, and Tom Sizemore in an awesome performance in the role of the patriarch of a dysfunctional family. Unfortunately the conclusion is not well resolved and quite pointless. The Brazilian title misleads the viewer, giving a wrong idea of the plot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rastros de Vingança" ("Tracks of Revenge")

I don't know why it happens, possibly I'm not a good citizen, but movies in which animals die sadden me more than when humans do. And possibly on that thought, and because I'm also a pet owner, I couldn't help but intensely root for the owner who goes after the kids who killed red. And that leads me to the marvelous performance by Brian Cox, an actor whom I never gave much attention to, even though many people love him. Tom Sizemore gives, like usual, another great spectacle. Actually all actors deserve praises. The directing by Trygve Allister Diesen is also quite remarkable. I have to admit I have a weakness for this movies about this rural small towns in the USA, in particular those who delve into the drudgery of those living there, which, to me, is the center of this film.

The combination of Brian Cox and Tom Sizemore in a film based upon a Jack Ketchum novel (bizarrely spelled Jack Ketchmum in the trailer) and the direction of cult-courting Lucky McKee certainly peaked my interest and therefore I awarded this film some of my time. The premise was something that also appealed to me - a kind of "Falling Down" but with a more mediative, Western styling.

The story is a simple but, on the surface, a powerful one. Brian Cox is Avery Ludlow, a veteran who hides his tortuous family history behind his love for his faithful dog, Red. One day while fishing, he is approached by three delinquents who try to rob him. Realising that he lacks anything of worth, the cocky leader of the pack, Danny, shoots dead his dog, laughs about it with his brother and friend, and then walks off. Ludlow is determined to get justice, but finds hurdles at every stage, from the boy's arrogant father, to a reluctant town sheriff.

The acting in this film was excellent. Brian Cox is superb as the graceful recluse seeking justice. He plays his role in a remarkably understated manner that compliments his experience and wisdom. Whether he is brutally taking on the perpetrators or solemnly reminiscing about the tragic circumstances that led to his wife and son's death, Cox is brilliant at making us feel a warm empathy with him, and makes us want to join him on his quest for justice. Kudos must also be given to Tom Sizemore, who is wonderfully repugnant as Michael McCormack, the arrogant, millionaire father of Danny the delinquent. He really does shine and show what a great actor he can be when he is not in trouble for one reason or another. It would be fair to say that he is much better at eliciting disgust than Cox is at eliciting empathy (although this is a much easier task) and his evolution from his first meeting with Cox, to the final showdown is a joy to watch and anticipate.

The other actors play their parts competently. I was a bit apprehensive about Noel Fisher as Danny at first, as he was guilty of slight overacting in his first scene. However, upon finishing the film, the acting style perfectly complimented his role as a narcissistic youth with no empathy, and overall he was very good in the film. Kyle Gallner, who plays his shy brother, and Shiloh Fernandez as his equally minded friend are also good, with Gallner excelling in the film's climax. The other major part is that of reporter Carrie Donnel, played by Kim Dickens. She is not bad in her role but it is entirely unnecessary, which brings me on to the film's flaw - it's script.

The film really does shine when there are scenes of direct confrontation. Anything between Cox and Fisher after their first meeting, or anything with Sizemore. The film really does suffer when the action is diverted to scenes of a more meditative nature. Donnel's role is far too over played, and her emergence as some sort of bizarre is she/isn't she love interest at the end severely harms the movie. The only things that ties the two together is Cox's consistently brilliant acting. His monologue on how his family fell apart is beautiful and haunting, with the camera lingering on his wise yet hurt face. Likewise, he is respectably sinister in his pursuit of justice, and the film really picks up pace in the final third, building to an excellent climax involving Cox, Sizemore, and his family. Indeed, after a slow, slightly turgid middle, this comes as a great relief. What a shame then that it is spoilt by a horribly put together ending that literally screams "TV MOVIE!" It is far too contrite, and does not favours to Cox or the film. I understand that McKee was replaced by a more happy-friendly director during filming, and his influence is clearly felt here (one wonders how McKee would have done the ending). Other than that though, the film maintains a consistent indie-Western style, and any notions of two directors are not realised.

It is this paltry ending that forces me to award this 7 out of 10. The film has many memorable moments, but is ruined by its final scene. I suggest watching this, if just for the confrontation scenes, and the film does certainly keep you guessing as to how it will end, but if it had just been more adventurous at various points then this could have been a very good film.