Wetlands

Manufactured drama,predictable but somewhat interesting

Tried but there was zero ways you could make sense out of this. Could have been a good movie except the plot was so disorganized and not remotely plausible. I like a lot of these actors though but horrible plot.

Better than a lot of drek being peddled. Crime drama. Nuff said.

This is hardly a great film but, on the other hand, there are far worse ways to spend two hours of your time. A moody and atmospheric neo noir, it's gets the look right but falls a bit short in the screenwriting.

In brief, it's the story of a disgraced Philly cop who comes to Atlantic City to try to repair his career as well as his relationship with his estranged wife and daughter. It has all the noir essentials: mobsters, corrupt cops, drugs, gambling and some illicit sex thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately it also has one or two more subplots than it needs, the end result being a loss of focus and plausibility.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje is actually quite good as the lead character and we can feel his struggle and disaffection. Heather Graham is good enough but her character is woefully under-developed. She is as much a plot device as a flesh and blood character. Reyna de Courcy, as "Surfer Girl" is quite literally a plot device as the film's superfluous and slightly annoying narrator. The much anticipated approaching hurricane is little more than a cheap metaphor for the foreboding that pervades the film and never amounts to much of anything.

What I liked best was the cinematography and the use of the landscape as character. But I need to confess, I grew up in Philly and still own a house at the Jersey Shore so, for me, it was a pleasure seeing areas I know on screen and trying to figure out where some of the unfamiliar locations were. (The home Babs rents is in an area called Grassy Sound, just north of Wildwood and is well worth a visit if you're in the area.) Still I don't think that's a prerequisite for enjoying this small, moody effort. You'll remember the feel of it long after you've forgotten the story.

At the time of writing, Wetlands has only two amateur reviews on site, something which on first glance paints a damning picture. Yet purveyors of film noir and its kindred spirits should at the least take a look at this grim portrayal of lost souls functioning in Atlantic City all while a devilish storm heads towards them.

Plot is by the numbers from the noir 101 playbook. Police officer (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is a recovering addict who battles his past demons whilst trying to save his loved ones from unlawful scumbags. And that's pretty much it, the impending storm is a sort of metaphor for the turmoil going on in the lives of everyone involved in the story. The script is hardly high quality either, and anyone looking for an emotional investment in the characters will eventually start throwing objects at the screen. Yet rewards are here for fans of the noir form.

Characterisations are pungent with a bleakness that holds court. Corruption, sexual kinks, addictions, infidelity, dark deeds, bohemian excess, sexual blackmail, and on it goes. That these black thunders jostle with our chief protagonist's honourable intentions makes for compelling viewing for those in the frame of mind for genre bulldozing.

Then there's Barry Markowitz' cinematography. The film is big on atmosphere as opposed to physical action, and Markowitz' photography is a key player. If it's not turning down the filters for grim texture, it's offering up pronounced primaries for a magnetic beauty that offers up hope in what seems to be a forlorn venture, very haunting in its beauty. Great work in a strong decade for neo-noir photography.

However, it's not a very good film by any stretch of the imagination, the performances are very uneven, and as the script and plotting screams for better thought, the resolution also comes off as rushed and unfulfilling. But it's no dead loss, and enough here for noir heads to savour. 6.5/10