The Brannigan Account

May contain spoilers.

This film obviously draws a ton of inspiration from films such as Pulp Fiction, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Smokin's Aces and Boondock Saints. Even so, it manages to hold its own as an original story built for laughs on top of a very dark storyline based on the killing of a man's parents.

Starting out, the film seems like a crime-action flick. Blood, motorcycles, shotguns are everywhere. It's full of heavy metal music. For the first 15 minutes you're taken on a joy ride of the film's "prologue", explaining the events 2 years before the main body.

Once the actual story is introduced, the film takes a dramatic shift in tone from serious action-drama to plain old comedy. This continues throughout the film, until about 20 minutes from the end, when it begins to darken again.

The closest example I can think of that pulled off such a dramatic shift in tone like this is Smokin' Aces. The entire film is insane, but at the end, it becomes very serious and darkly toned. The Brannigan Account does just this, making you feel the heart wrenching emotion forced upon one of the main characters at the "end". I put "end" in quotations for one reason...they pull a "Return of the King" in this film. It ends 3 times!!! Now, that said, each ending provides its own little explanation and exposition crucial to the story. The first is very depressing. The next makes you pump your fists in excitement (it's about revenge) and the last leaves you utterly speechless as you watch someone die in front of your very eyes...and it's a character you thought would surely live.

All in all...the film is highly entertaining. It stumbles a few times throughout, but for a FEATURE FILM made for under 1,000 dollars...this is better than most Hollywood films I've seen.

I also feel the need to add that the soundtrack, pulled from local artists in Wilmington, NC, where the film was shot, is amazing. Each song fits its scene perfectly and each song is just plain great to listen to. Wilmington, NC is proving to be one of the best places in the nation for indie film and music.