Ill Fated

I've read a couple reviews. One was good and seemed to get it but the other was terrible - and in my mind way off base. The reviewer took the drama way too seriously instead of enjoying the vibrancy of the film and how *beeped* up this guy's situation is. I thought the film was hilarious. And refreshing in how the filmmakers broke the mold of a typical Canadian film. I like Canadian films but this one was ballsy; took a hyper-real approach... which I think is great. Think Fellini in backwater Canada. Historically, critics have always had trouble appreciating films that deviate from realism. The reason for this I think is that they're... critiquing. When a film is expressed through impressions of ideas or feelings (from surrealism to absurdism), the aesthetic can only be experienced through, for lack of a better word, feeling. The greatest filmmakers have fallen victim to this pitfall (from Fellini to Powell/Pressburger, to Kubrick and Wes Anderson). But regardless, it's the test of time that proves the worth of little films like this. We'll have to wait and see.

Quirky and offbeat would be the best way to describe this story of a small town 19 year-old struggling to find his way in the midst of even smaller small town personalities.

Some of the characters in the rural setting are way over the top, but it works, as they're supposed to be embellished caricatures of hicks. The performances that stood out the most are that of the lead, Paul Campbell, known mostly for his work on the new Battlestar Galactica, his character's quirky grandfather played by John F. Parker, and in a very minor but memorable role the local police officer who spends much of the film completely flabbergasted at the stupidity of the local bunch to which he seemingly belongs.

This is a movie that definitely does not take itself too seriously, nor should the viewer.

Nearly turned it off a few times but I kept going, I should get a medal. So badly put together and developed, there should be a category for something as bad as this.

Let's see, there's (I think) drama, there's promiscuity with no one ever, ever practicing safe sex, there's incest, there's deaths of inconvenient characters, there's a demented school bus driver, there's the Keystone Cops, and best of all there's a gun fight at the OK Corral - right at the very end.

I had a hard time keeping track of the characters and who fathered who. There's a crackpot old grandfather thrown in for good measure. And on. And they probably got hefty Canadian government grants to make this. My brain is bleeding. Sometimes us Canucks embarrass ourselves SO publicly. Sorry, world.

4 out of 10 for the poor bewildered performance of Paul Campbell. Did anyone ever, ever struggle to rise above his material so desperately? All the points are for you, buddy.

This unmistakably Canadian film is a fantastic first feature effort by Mark A. Lewis. I can't wait to see what he does next. The film features consistently breathtaking framing with a lot of "big sky" that reminds me of Howard Hawks. There is a lot of attention paid to how the audience will relate to the characters through the lens.

The writing is very strong. I recently worked with John Callander on my first short film and he's equally impressive as both actor and writer.

Paul Campbell's performance as Jimmy is terrific. The entire team behind Ill Fated is worth watching closely. I have a feeling that most of them are only at the beginnings of what will be incredible careers.

I can only imagine that the positive comments listed here were left by the directors mother because this movie is something only she would love.

True, the cinematography is well done and the acting is passable for a Canadian feature, but the writing is unbearable. It falls into the trap of many other Canadian features by hiding lack of talent behind a string of unnecessary expletives. There wasn't a single conversation that was believable and the plot unrolled lack a mangled origami project. Add to this a cast of characters that are instantly forgettable and thoroughly unlikeable and you have a movie that you shouldn't have rented.

Ill Fated is a fitting title: Viewer beware.