Crave

Being from Australia I thought this Josh Lawson Movie would have been good...

Don't waste your time watching it as It is below average...

The story line is Carp.... and the Movie is Crap... if you watch this you have wasted a good few Hours that you could have watched something else. The movie has a lot to answer for and Josh Lawson also has a lot to answer for. I have no idea why I watched this as The movie should have been so much better. I do like the actor but.... My god Why did he do this Crap Film ? This is only my opinion But I feel this is a BAD Movie

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Aiden (Josh Lawson) is a loser and a photographer working in Detroit. He likes to take pictures of crime scenes. He's fallen for young girl next door Virginia (Emma Lung). Often he imagines heroic fantasies to deal with the decaying city life and his personal failings. Ron Perlman plays his confidant police detective Pete. And it's real nice to see Edward Furlong as Virginia's druggie boyfriend.

This could have been a great dark little film. It needs a better and edgier actor in the lead. Josh Lawson is a little too average. The style is competent but without the extreme tension that this movie deserves. His constant internal monologue probably has something to do with that. It breaks up any tension that the movie builds up. I wonder if Edward Furlong would make a better lead. I think he has more intensity, and he could play creepy better.

The surface story is .. 'A downtrodden photographer, haunted by the urban violence and decay around him, retreats into an inner world of dark fantasies.' But that is just the marketing phrase to get the attention of the public.

This marvelous film is just chock full of symbolism, and what gave me the lead is the setting - Detroit! Detroit - a once vibrant and wealthy industrial city now suffering under corporate self imposed decay and debt - Detroit still has wealth but the shine is soiled by the blight within it - Detroit is America today.

Aiden - the photographer - symbolizes government or the people in America. We know right from wrong, we are a nice people at heart, just as Aiden is. But America fantasizes so often of being 'the avenger of the wronged and oppressed' and when we take action we so often get it all wrong and then do not understand why others in the world don't trust us.

Virginia - the girl next door - she symbolizes the American psychological take on our friends, our allies. There is more to her than Aiden is willing to see (or unable to see) and doesn't understand her reaction when he inappropriately reacts to a situation. Even though America has many allies they are often put off by our inappropriate response to an international event.

Pete - the policeman - symbolizes what Americans know about themselves and others! We can feed the good wolf or the bad wolf. Pete is the collective conscientiousness of the often indecisiveness of America, - when America knows which decision is rightful.

Barry - the rich corporate business man - symbolizes the corporations and politicians (or politics) in America. It's only concern is for itself and when they are caught cheating, as happened to Barry, they can buy their freedom and are never held responsible for their degrading actions to the working class (the girl in the cheap motel).

Ravi - the boyfriend of Virginia - he represents the people America has wronged by assault and war. Then we come running to help, as Aiden did to Ravi after shooting him, only to discover it's too late.

'Crave' is a two hour movie, but I was fascinated by Aiden and never knowing which way he will turn before he finds the gun. After the gun he feels empowered but it just makes his life worse. Even though Aiden is not caught for his crimes his mental world will continue to torture him. America is Aiden, we haven't been punished for our crimes either!

So why are all the reviews just summaries of the plot? Nonsense spoilers with no substance. Unlike this movie. Here is the thing... I have a close friend who is EXACTLY like the main character. To the T. Except he hasn't murdered anyone (that I know of). So I have to say the writing is great and the directing is great. This guy is a sociopath str8 up. And he is sold that way all throughout the movie. I would say this is a 6.5 easy. So i give it a 10 to bring up the rating. Great soundtrack. Great usage of film school technics like shaking the camera to induce anxiety. The fake blood is okay... could have splurged with real blood. The acting is great. The girl plays up her part well but the lead actor takes the cake. Really laughed out loud when he said "who cares?". This dude is exactly like my friend.... crazy!

I expected this film to be in the vein of those early 1980s urban vigilante films such as Ms 45 or The Exterminator. A schlock B movie trying to say something important but just gives you more violence that it wants to decry.

Australian actor Josh Lawson plays Aidan a crime photographer working in Detroit. He is a recovering alcoholic and prone to fantasies where he takes on minor criminals and gets applauded by the public.

Aidan has has a relationship with a young girl at the same apartment block, Virginia (another Australian actress, Emma Lung). The relationship makes him happy and confidant but it threatens to be short lived. Ron Perlman plays a police detective who is also a recovering alcoholic and who he also confides in as they meet up regularly in crime scenes.

Aidan decides enough is enough and acts out his fantasies by taking on some low life villains but finds out being the vigilante man is not easy. Things take an unsavoury turn when he gets involved in a tussle with Virginia's boyfriend Pete (Edward Furlong) that leads him to bewilderment.

Its clear Aidan is a loner, unsociable and damaged. He usually says the wrong things to Virginia and has retreated to his fantasy life where he hears voices.

A director such as Abel Ferrara would had made this film entertaining with some added social comment and it would had gathered a cult appeal. However what we have here is an overlong low budget film that meanders and gets nowhere fast. Half way through you realise that the film has another hour to go and you already think that its gone on for two hours.

I cannot fault the actors who do their best with the material but the screenplay is poor and the direction is pedestrian.