Good Day for It

With an excellent cast, this fine crime thriller was well worth watching. It was very tense by times - the viewer is never sure how it is going to play out toward the end.

It was nice to see the likable Hal Holbrook in one of his last roles. Jason Patrick, who stars in the main role in this one, has been an underrated actor over the years. The actors playing the villains perform well too - it was interesting to see Lance Henriksen in the role of the boss in a criminal gang.

Although it's a modern crime thriller, it's a lot like a good western, with plenty of drama before the showdown near the end. It definitely deserves a better rating and it's a bit sad how few people have seen it.

I put 'Good Day for It' in my queue solely because of Robert Patrick, Lance Henriksen. Imagine my surprise when opening credits sprung more familiar names. Hal Halbrook, Robert Englund, Samantha Mathis & Kathy Baker. Cast aside, there's elements to appreciate here. It has a down to earth feel and the people ring true, but you gotta know it's a low budget slow burn affair. Deep dark crime saga this is not.

Emily (Mika Boorem) plans to meet up with her estranged dad Luke Cain (Patrick) unbeknownst to her mom (Mathis). At Rose's Cafe, they bond under the friendly eyes of owners Rose (Baker) & Hec (Halbrook) as the daughter finds out why he left them over fifteen years ago. Luke also comes face to face with cronies of Lyle Tyrus (Henriksen). One of which reports back to his criminal boss. Turns out the two share a past association and Lyle has a score to settle with Luke.

A tale of broken pasts, bad decisions and being in the wrong place at the wrong time in rural America coming to a head. 'A Good Day For It' has some real heart, but also a high dose of predictability, a few cliches and surface level characters. Fans of Patrick, Henriksen should give it a go to see the two men share the screen together in a real way, but it never rises above merely average.

Don't get me wrong. I thought this was better than most of the films I have seen this year, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. The problem is the issue of time. Several issues, to be exact.

First, there is the problem of the antagonistic gangster characters, who, with one younger exception, all appear to be in the middle-aged or geriatric age groups. To be a credible violent felon, you should not look as though you depend on Medicare for fracture treatment and bullet extraction.

Second, the young girl uses a sleek wireless laptop to arrange a reunion with her estranged father, and yet she does not seem to possess that device which is organically attached to the fingers of the modern teen, namely, a cell phone with texting capability. Worse still, she uses rotary dial phones and pay phones, both of which suit a modern teen about as much as a corset and a bonnet.

Finally, in this film with sleek wireless laptops, nobody but the police officer seems to be driving a car made after the 1970s.

Aside from these annoying anachronisms, the film was superb!

Good Day For It probably won't be seen by many people, except for the die hard fans of the actors involved (like myself), and the occasional casual viewer who stumbles upon it on a shelf of an obscure rental store, or perhaps an obscure corner of netflix. This is too bad, because it is an excellent, moody, emotional and tense tale of a man facing the fears of his past and reconciling with his family.

The always awesome Robert Patrick stars as this man, Luke Cain, a tortured soul who once made a dangerous but necessary decision to rob a lot of money from his employer, nasty and sadistic crime kingpin Lyle Tyrus (the terrifyingly intense Lance Henriksen) , to save his baby daughter's life. He leaves his family after this, and does not return for fifteen years, when his daughter is older. When Lyle's gang spots him in town, things get violent and past emotions rise.

Everyone in the cast is great, from Mika Boorem as Luke's hurt but hopeful daughter, Samantha Mathis as her mother, Richard Brake as Lyle's slimy brother Norman, and Hal Holbrook as a kindly Diner cook. But performance wise, the show belongs to Robert Patrick, a tremendous actor who had yet to be given a lead role until now, and plays it with a forlorn melencholy, and a stoic toughness that proves he is an actor to be reckoned with, and should be given far more roles such as this.

Good Day For It is a great little indie feature with all the right touches of subtlety, beautiful rural cinematography, and smoldering danger. Highly recommended.

This film is truly original and intriguing. Great performances throughout. Strong narrative. All stars like Hal Holbrook and more. Don't miss this movie.