The Lesser Evil

I liked this movie. Yes, the plot twist at the end was awesome--never saw that coming! The actors chosen to play the parts was EXCELLENT!!! Colm Feore is a top-notch actor, and he was the main reason I wanted to watch--anything he acts in is Outstanding! This movie had a Lesson--everything we do in life stays with us--the mistakes of the past, when unresolved, follow us until we do resolve them in some way. The guys, however, choose to keep their past secret and poor Derrick was the..........Nah, you can figure that out when you watch the movie! ;) You know, Why this Movie is titled, The Lesser Evil! :)

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.

I gave this movie an 8 and after voting instantly wished I'd given it a 9. The cast, those playing the 4 main characters in the present and in the past, did an excellent job. The best acting performances were turned in by David Paymer and Adam Scott as "adult George" and "young George" respectively. I checked my skin a couple of times to make sure the slime hadn't slithered off of him and made it's way through the ether to my living room. But I think the real talent here was that of Jeremy Levine who write the script. I visited IMDB specifically to see if the story had been taken from a short story but evidently it wasn't. It was just plain good writing and even the heavy use of flashback, rather than slowing down the suspense, actually enhanced it. It was the classic writer's technique of starting with a simple situation and piling on complication after complication until the suspense is unbearable. He did it extremely well and it worked.

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.

"Lesser Evil" is a 1998 film starring Colm Feore, David Paymer, Tony Goldwyn and Arliss Howard. It's very well directed by David Mackay, and the script by Jeremy Levine and Steven Schultze is excellent. The film starts at a funeral presided over by a priest (Howard) who then tells the story in flashback. As teenagers, four buddies - Ivan (the priest, played as a young man by Marc Worden), George (Alan Scott/Paymer), Derek (Jonathan Scarfe/Feore) and Frank (Steven Petrarca/Goldwyn) are being crazed, drunken, out of control lunatics in the woods when George (Adam Scott/Paymer grown up) shoots into a car, gravely injuring the driver. The driver has a shotgun on his lap. He also has something else, which is revealed later in the film. The kids become completely hysterical and, as the man isn't dead but seems close to it, they attempt to rush him to a hospital. Then they change their minds and take him back to the woods, where he dies hours later, helped along by one of them when they see police lights.

Twenty years later, the gun that killed the man has surfaced, and the police question its owner, Derek (Feore), who has called them all together. George has become an attorney, Frank a police officer, Ivan a priest, and Derek's business is failing. He has made a mess of talking to the police and is a wreck. Ivan thinks they should go to the police and tell them what happened all those years ago, though they had all made a pact to protect George and keep quiet. Then they realize that George has been getting everything on tape and that Frank has been keeping a big secret from them all these years.

Fascinating story of the ramifications of guilt even after "getting away" with something and how guilt molded the lives and personalities of each man and changed their relationships with one another. In that way, it's a tiny bit like "Mystic River." With Colm Feore in it, the acting can be nothing less than spectacular. He is one of my favorite actors, having seen in perform at Stratford in Canada several times. The leads are all excellent, and the young men who play them as teens are superb.

There's a twist at the end. You won't want to miss this superlative drama that could only come from an independent filmmaker, as Hollywood is too busy with cartoon characters and blowing up things.