La conscience tranquille

i give this movie a nine and a half out of ten, it's one of the best movie's that i've ever seen. it was just a great movie, well acted, the direction was well done, the only things i didn't like were the actions of some of the characters. however, the movie was so well done, and the ultimate question posed was so interesting (and so well expressed) that this movie seems nearly flawless.

This is an excellent film, and was a very pleasant suprise, to say the least. I'm amazed, however, at the lack of online information for "The Lesser Evil". It's a shame it hasn't gotten much attention, because this is a very well done, totally gripping film, with a twist ending I never saw coming. If you like your movies suspenseful, thought-provoking, and unpredictable, check this one out...you won't be disappointed.

A very talented double cast of characters and excellent use of flashbacks makes for a very good dark drama. Four young friends meet in an abandon quarry and a devious prank turns into an accidental double murder. The four go their separate ways and meet again as adults when the authorities get close to solving the crime by tracing the gun back to one of the four. Now the four turn on each other in order to protect themselves.

The four adult friends are played by David Paymer, Tom Goldwyn, Arlis Howard and Colm Feore. Their younger counterparts are Adam Scott, Jonathan Scarfe, Marc Warden and Steven Petrarca. Both sets of actors were brilliant. Not exactly predictable and enough tension to curl the hair on the back of your neck. One minute you feel sorry for each of these characters and then a few moments later you want to slap a knot on them yourself. Suspense and nail biting galore. You wear yourself out just watching.

And its reputation to that end will grow as word-of-mouth continues to spread about this utterly gripping film, a sordid tale of four carefree young friends whose lives forever are changed within one instant.

From the start, we are drawn into an inexorable spiral of almost unrelieved tension. An embarrassing encounter wounds the boys' pride, leading first to rash, childish posturing, immature decisions, and then to a mistaken identity in an abandoned quarry. The story becomes a steamroller in overdrive, as suspicions mount and personal loyalties melt away, overwhelmed by uncomprehending panic, sheer desperation, and the drive towards individual survival.

No other film I've seen has ever led me to as much ongoing "what would I do?" self-introspection. The once-secure bonding among the four young men collapses, replaced by terror and the fear of discovery. This descent into the "eat-or-be-eaten" dark side is part of the relentless march away from civility that captivates us throughout.

You'll not forget this film, its powerful imageries, and its fine cast's potent portrayals of psychological interplay. (Watch for legendary radio actor Mason Adams as the father of the deceased.) Highly recommended to adults.

A clever use of combining past and present to explain what is happening on screen is used throughout THE LESSER EVIL by director Jack Mackay. The story basically involves men who made a bad mistake in the past and have had their crime affecting their lives ever since. A reunion proposed by one of the men turns into something more than a mere gathering of old friends--and leads to another crime.

This is an independent film without wide distribution and it's little known among fans of the suspense genre. It's worth watching for the more than competent performances from a splendid cast, particularly the adult actors COLM FEORE, TONY GOLDWYN, ARLISS HOWARD and David PAYMER.

It's more a character study of the four friends than a straight thriller, but as the story unwinds--after a beginning narrated by ARLISS HOWARD as a priest giving a graveside sermon on a dead friend--it keeps switching back and forth between past and present to explain what is happening, each aspect of the story made clearer by revealing the past crime concurrently with the present action.

It's an effective way of telling a complex story of guilt and fear brought on by the killing of an individual and the extremes the four went to in an effort to cover up the crime.

The twist at the end comes as a surprise because nothing about the story is predictable. It's a well done independent film and one well worth seeing.