Gabriel

What to say about this marvelous film? As Gabriel, Rory Culkin will have you liking him, hating him, feeling empathy for him, and just like his family you want to help but Gabe is beyond help.

Gabe makes a bus trip home after being an extended inpatient at a psychiatric hospital. (How long we do not know because it is irrelevant to the story). But first Gabe wants to find a girl he loves - Sarah. And this is the story in Gabriel. To get to Sarah, Gabe is no fool and you actually want him to achieve this goal. But you know it will be a dead end for him. In achieving this task Gabe sinks further into his mental illness.

Director/Writer Lou Howe brings to us the very image of hopelessness by filming all the scenes during winter when all of nature appears dead, skies gray, the days are short. This is symbolic of how Gabe feels about himself, yet he wants to live and come back to a daily life just like spring. But Gabes sun has set and he doesn't realize it.

A beautiful captivating film with superior acting and dialog by all.

I mean, first of all, the film has a really misleading poster. It just seems so much like a genre film, and what was fortunately surprising is that it's actually a very real, very honest portrayal of a film topic we've seen countless of times before. Although we have, it's rare to see it handled like this. The film keeps this harsh tone of menace without actually being a "thriller". It's impressive actually, and it's really impressive how well written the screenplay is. Rory Culkin is simply superb. The only other thing I've ever seen him in (well, since his kid turn in Signs) is Scream 4 and he was definitely a standout there. He has raw talent that the film was able to give him the opportunity to showcase. Easily one of the best performances of the year so far. Another standout in the film was Dierdre O'Connell. I'm not sure that the last 10 minutes worked as well as they should have, but the film made its point and it never became anything that betrayed everything that came before it. I'm really glad I got the opportunity to see his film, highly recommended.

Seen at the Leiden International Film Festival 2014 (LIFF), where it was selected for the official American Indie competition. We follow Gabriel on an obsessive search for a former girl friend, hoping that being together again will solve all his problems. Provides for an insightful view on the impact it has on family and friends who have to live with someone with mental problems, and how difficult it must be to follow his trains of thought and his hidden reasoning. That he is a loose canon and unpredictable all the time, is clear from the outset.

On the other hand, an extra 5 minutes (adding up to 90 min, still not long) could have worked to explain Gabriel's medical history, his place in the family and what problems he has been treated for. And what precisely must we think of his former relationship with Alice, and how many years have past since their relationship?? A continuous attempt to restore that friendship is the driving force of everything he does, and we may wonder why he thinks that a reunion is a good idea, and why it will solve all his problems for good.

All in all, a lot of guesswork, too much for my taste, but it may have been on purpose letting us read between the lines all the time and keeping us in tension. Yet, lead character and director show a lot of promise, with a bright future ahead. My IMDb score of 7 strikes a balance between the excellent acting on one hand, and the missing elements in the script which could have clarified some background and improved our viewer experience on the other hand. The excellent performance by the lead actor and his overly persistent quest would have been better appreciated when we had a grip on the type of disease he is suffering from. If leaving out important details was intentional to maintain a dramatic tension all along, I'm wrong with this score, but I cannot help it. Maybe I'm to rational and always in need to understand things, unable to satisfy myself with atmosphere and impressions included in a movie.

Ironic that this guy always wanted to run away from home while his brother was always Home Alone.

What saves this stalker movie is performance of Home Alone's brother, the pure reactions to the lead character's illness and how beautiful it was shot. If not for all of that, wow, this one would be a tough one. EVEN at only 85 minutes, it WOULD HAVE feel like 185 minutes.

In a very nice way of telling a story, we immediately like the Title Character, then dislike him, then fear him and then realize why. The story is slowly, but surely told to us: "Gabe's" on his way home, but makes a pitstop to see an old flame he obviously hasn't seen in years. When he can't find her, he reports homeward.

All the clues are being revealed, this boy is not well. And that's putting it SOOO mildly. In fact, that's another positive here: this kid (maybe 20s?) is so on the edge, you NEVER know when he's going to act out or hurt someone or himself. Will he get the help he needs? Will the "Love of his Life" run away with him? Or will this all end tragically?

It's not for the main stream and it might be very difficult to watch if you have someone close to you with a severe mental illness. Still, I'd recommend as this WAS beautifully and expertly shot and convincing to the end.

***

Final thoughts: I like to go into movies cold, so I try to do as very little research before I see a movie and especially during. That was a problem here. I SWORE 50% of the time that was one of the Culkins, but then I'd flip-flop throughout. I probably really should've broken my rule just so I can relax...well, with that question anyways. The rest of the movie isn't quite relaxing at all.

It's a very very quiet film with an captivating performance by Culkin

It was a very down to earth look at a kid who just got out of a metal institution attempting to prove to everyone that he's not insane, when they all feel otherwise.

The filmmakers added to this haunting quest by never fully accounting the actions of Gabriel before he got out. It's a good way to have the audience keep him as the protagonist, so that we a cheering for him all the way.

The subtlety of the whole thing from the very beginning to the very end really does the trick and actually brings out Culkin's chilling performance.

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