Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby

Matthew Bright's unique retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel is a twisted, violent, shocking and entertaining film which takes the 'road movie' concept and injects it with class-A hallucinogenics. The result is a lurid nightmare tale of prostitutes, serial killers, cannibalism and paedophilia.

Natasha Lyonne shows she is capable of far more than just teen comedies by starring as White Girl, a bulimic teenager who poses as a whore in order to savagely attack and rob her 'tricks'. Sent to prison for 25 years, she befriends Cyclona (María Celedonio), a psychologically fragile murderous chronic-masturbator(!) and together they escape and head for Tijuana, Mexico, where Cyclona hopes they can find sanctuary with her childhood protector, Sister Gomez (Vincent Gallo).

This freakish fairy tale is certainly not for mainstream audiences, but those who dig more unusual fare should certainly get a kick from the non-stop weirdness on display. With Bright's array of 'colourful' characters and a story that unfolds in an unpredictable fashion, the film certainly never bores.

Much fun can be had spotting the parallels between this film and its source material, Hansel and Gretel. The film uses the theme of food prevalent in the Grimm's classic story, and features an interesting take on the 'trail of breadcrumbs' and a really nasty 'witch'.

A heady concoction of exploitation, art-house, action and horror, Confessions of a Trickbaby is recommended to fans of cinema's wild side, and particularly to those who enjoyed Natural Born Killers, with which it shares a similar vibe.

Anyone who has seen the first film in this series will notice numerous major differences between the two films. While the story line and plot structure are very creative and innovative, the way the story was portrayed was less than commendable. Many parts of the film seem overtly sexual and as if they were created for fetish more than to add to the film. There were multiple parts of the film like this, which made it seem more like pornography than a legitimate film starring females. I think this film would've been much better without the extreme efforts to seem "weird", and also without the overuse of pointless and explicit sexuality.

It's difficult to know how to react to oddball films like this.They're not funny enough to be called black comedies and not clever enough to be termed satires. Obviously the director wants us to be shocked and disgusted and just as obviously wants us to keep on watching, in this I think he succeeds in all directions. No matter what the reactions I think very few people will not see it through to the end for the pacing is just right with action scenes coming at just the right moments.

There's a somewhat cheap look to the production, photography is sometimes poor but there are a few nicely composed scenes. The acting is excellent with Vincent Gallo a standout as Sister Gomez.

See it by all means but you have been warned.

This film doesn't deserve the hammering it seems to be getting at the hands of the IMDB voters. Maybe Freeway II does try a bit too hard to be trendy, and Vincent Gallo is a bit irritating. On the positive side, there is some great photography, especially when the girls hit Mexico, the soundtrack is fantastic and Natasha Lyonne is awesome.

If you want to rent something a bit colorful, then you could do a lot worse.

First of all, I didn't look fully at the cast credits for this before I started watching, so about two thirds of the way in I'm pretty sure I said loud enough for my downstairs neighbors to hear (or on the whole block for that matter) "Holy s*** is that Vincent Gallo! That is Vincent Gallo and what is he DOING?! Am I amused? Yes! Ok!" And then I went on with my viewing.

Bright eschews much of the smuggling and social commentary/wicked satire of the first Freeway for more of a straight take-no-prisoners exploitation flick that in some ways (like it's soundtrack) puts it pretty smack dab in the late 90s as far as what-they-could-afford rock songs, and Little Red Riding Hood is traded off for Hansel and Gretel (only if, hey, we have escaped lady convicts who are half totally crazy and half totally not but capable of self defense, with the occasional lesbianism).

Not that that is a bad thing at all, it's just that it revels far more in the sleaze and murder and drug-fuelled mayhem (I haven't seen so much huffed by characters in one movie in a while), though the first twenty minutes in the prison is Bright especially digging his feet squarely into a Women in Prison movie that is kind of half baked; I get why he is after the exploitative imagery of seeing a row of convict women all puking their guts out, but it's taking something that...

I know how it sounds to pick on this point in a movie where people get killed/sexually assaulted/rampant drug use/prostitution/besting the hell out of creepy goddamn men and so forth, at the same time those are staples of such a grimy and trashy piece. The eating disorder part feels a lot cheaper, like it's there for the shock value (with some binge eating for Natasha Lyonne's "White Girl" once she escapes) without grappling with it being a deeper-rooted problem for so many. I can't criticize it more coherently at this time.

Another issue: I don't think Maria Celedonio a Cyclone is wholly convincing, or at least for what she needs to get to, especially when she has to act dramatic in many scenes. As a badass with attitude, that is something she has nailed down like a pro. When she's up against Natasha Lyonne though, who is doing a whole lot to bring both raw power and attitude and a more psychological approach that, dare I say it for something that goes for the BIG moments and swings at all this material, has subtlety throughout and consistently too.

All this said though, it is fun for much of the runtime, and aptly unsettling in its horror in the final act, and I like that Bright is swinging for such mad ideas and chances... Like what Vincent Gallo is doing here and made me happy despite how unseemly it is. And maybe there is something that Bright is trying to get at with a Mexico underbelly that would allow a Wicked Witch character luring the young with her food that connects to modern day terror in the country... Or maybe not! I recommend it, just that it can't help but look lessor compared to the first one.