5lbs of Pressure

Greetings again from the darkness. With a setting in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn (though filmed in Manchester, UK), writer-director Phil Allocco has adapted his own 2005 short film THE MIRROR into a gritty and violent feature length crime thriller. For fans of the genre, there is enough here to make it worth watching.

Luke Evans stars as Adam, recently paroled after committing murder 16 years prior. He is 5 years clean, and against all better judgment, he returns to his old neighborhood. Why would he make this choice? Well, he hopes to reconcile with his ex, Donna (Stephanie Leonidas, "American Gothic") and get to know his grown son, Jimmy (Rudy Pankow, who I also watched this week in ACCIDENTAL TEXAN). Donna not only rebuffs Adam's attempts to re-connect, but she begs him to stay away from Jimmy, who she desperately wants to prevent from falling into Adam's old ways. No one seems to believe Adam has turned over a new leaf, and the only job he can secure is as bartender at a dumpy pub called The Mirror.

Allocco begins the movie with an exterior shot of The Mirror Bar where we see and hear gunshots. We then flash back to four days earlier with Adam's parole. The question the opening scene leaves us with is - who is on the wrong end of those gunshots? Slowly (sometimes too slowly) the players in the hood come into focus. Mike (Rory Culkin, the underrated COLUMBUS, 2017) is a rocker wannabe spending his time running risky errands for his Uncle Leff (Alex Pettyfer, MAGIC MIKE, 2012), a drugs and gun dealer who, after his sister's OD, promised to look after her son despite having little faith in him. Mike's friend Eli (Zac Adams) was a witness to his older brother getting shot by Adam all those years ago ... and he remains filled with anger and bitterness. That bitterness shows in how he treats his girlfriend Lori (Savannah Steyn), who mostly just wants a change of locale. Other players here include bad guy ER (Gary McDonald) and Adam's PO played by Julee Cerda.

If you are thinking that's a lot of players in a story about an ex-con, you'd be right. Adam's story is at the center, but there are so many other things being affected by both his presence and the violent nature of street crime, that we feel like we are being introduced to loser after loser. The weight of the past is always hovering, and the themes of crime, revenge, forgiveness, and a desire for a fresh start, all lead to the vicious and endless cycle we've come to expect from these movies. We learn what the title refers to, and how art can act as a bonding agent if given a chance. Adam and Mike are the film's most interesting characters, yet most of the others get a bit shortchanged.

Opening in theaters, on digital and OnDemand beginning March 8, 2024.

A sad tale of small-world crime, drug, revenge, drama and father's love and redemption. From beginning to end, there's brutality, sadness, throat-clamping situations and some very intense moments whether emotional or heart-breaking in a brutal way.

The character of Luke Evans deserved better, and the way the movie finished just doubled the sadness that's scattered throughout like deadly white powders.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Development: 7
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 6
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX/CGI: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 7
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 5
• Flow: 6
• Crime/romance/thriller/drama: 6
• Ending: 6.

I like most of the actors in this which was my only reason for watching and across the film there are many fine performances. Problem is the actual plot, individual scenes and script that do not do the actors any favors. There are just way too many scenes that do not ring true. The type of scenes that only happen in bad movies. On top of it, how many times have stories like this been told ? There is nothing new here except that the story is completely implausible. It is well shot, someone did an excellent job on the cinematography but it's a shame that movies today are so bad that some fine actors are reduced to shoot a film that is nonsense. It's not a good thing to be watching a movie and thinking "Why would someone do or say that ?".

Based on director Phil Allocco's own short movie from 2005, The Mirror.

5lbs of Pressure sinks under its own weight of unoriginality and a banal script.

Adam (Luke Evans) is out on parole after serving time for killing a youth. He has returned to his own neighbourhood to connect with his estranged wife and teenage son.

His parole officer is not happy about this especially as Adam has also got a job as a bartender at the Mirror Bar. It's a recipe for disaster and Adam will violate his parole conditions.

Eli is the brother of the youth that Adam killed 16 years earlier. When he learns that Adam is back, hr wrestles with his conscience as to whether to seek revenge.

Mike (Rory Culkin) is a dim young man living under the shadow of his drug dealing uncle Leff (Alex Pettyfer.) He has looked out for Mike since his mum died.

Now Mike wants to break out on his own and score a solo drug deal. Not realising that he is too naive and idiotic.

Mike also recognised Adam as a killer. He also has an idea to rob the Mirror Bar and pin the blame on Adam.

You just know these characters will collide one night. Cheaply made with the city of Manchester standing in for New York. It's not gritty or even that interesting.

This kind of film has been done scores of time before and mostly better.

I dont mind watching B-movies, I watch them a lot actually, but this is a B-movie which pretends to be a serious crime drama and that didnt sit well with me.

The bad: average actors, lacking in charisma and talent, try to act seriously, while their performances constantly made me cringe by their lack of quality. You know that kind of feeling when the acting just doesnt look true to life and kinda fake? Well that's the feeling I got when watching these actors who all failed to impress me.

Labeled as a romance as well? Are they kiddin'? And it for sure as heck aint thrilling for a second. It is a crime story all right, but much more geared towards a personal portrait of criminals than towards a riveting thriller though. So beware all you fans of crime thrillers, this is probably not the movie you expect it to be.

Not any good then? Well, the "best" actor we get to see is Rory Culkin, but he never was a great actor to begin with and that qualification sums up this entire movie, which is not terrible, but quite average and lacking in everything you would wish for in a crime thriller.