Predicament

Saw this last night and it was a massive disappointment. First of I wanted to say that I think Stutter is a talented director, in terms of his visual skills - as the art direction and camera work was first rate. However the story, and casting was a major let down and left a lot to be desired. Like any young director Stutter needed to hit some what of a home run, to get another chance at bat - but after seeing this film I think that he'd struggle. It's been just over a week now since it's release and it's almost finished it theatrical run in Auckland. Which is another way of saying, this is a major box office flop - anyone who says otherwise is in dreamland.

The choice of story, just struck me as weird. Why as a young director would you choose an obscure local novel, set decades ago as the basis of your first flick? Surely he could have found something more relevant. Clement had some moments, but the other two leads weren't strong enough to carry the story. Overall I thought it wasn't funny enough to be comedy, and not interesting enough to work as a crime drama.

Ronald Hugh Morrieson's novel Predicament is a humorous, dark tale of the seedy underbelly of a small New Zealand town. This movie keeps the humour and tone of the book while also adding to it a modern freshness to make it relevant to today's audience.

The lead cast all turn in excellent performances, not only to give the movie a great dramatic feel but also to deliver truly comedic moments that lighten what could otherwise, at times, be a pretty dark tale. Hayden Frost is perfect as Cedric, the awkward, friendless, and yet good- hearted teenager. Heath Franklin delivers a great performance as Mervyn, a manipulative and at times slightly threatening bludger. Tim Finn provides some special moments as Cedric's befuddled dad. But for many the highlight will be Jemaine Clement's creepy and yet deeply funny Spook.

A great script and terrific performances aside, this movie also looks fantastic. The art direction and costume design are impressively stylish and make the 30s look like a pretty cool time to be around. On top of this, the cinematography delivers a movie with lush colours and, at times, a darkness that is just perfect for the tone of the movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed my night out seeing this movie during the film festival, and the rest of the audience did too. This movie is bound to become a New Zealand classic and must be seen on the big screen to be truly appreciated.

Predicament was a thoroughly enjoyable film. Set in 1930's small town New Zealand and adapted from a Ronald Hugh Morrison novel of the same name, Predicament is a hard film to categorize as it touches on many genres. The overall theme of the film is a crime drama, with a fantastic comedy element woven throughout, which kept the plot intriguing and the characters quirky. What makes the casting and story really interesting is that the main character Cedric (film newcomer Hayden Frost), even when partnered with two fantastic comedy heavyweights Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement, and Heath (Chopper) Franklin, never gets lost in the cast or upstaged as the main character. Both Spook (Jemaine) and Mervyn (Heath) provide lots of character personality, features & flaws that Cedric's character doesn't have, which creates an unlikely trio of mischief that never lets up from the opening to the closing credits. All the supporting actors are great too, including kiwi icon Tim Finn, who plays a great character that adds to poor Cedric's woes. I love fun films and that is exactly what Predicament delivers - by the spade full. Amazing sets, cars & costumes all come to life in the rich vivid colourful directing by Jason Stutter.

My whole family watched predicament when it opened the NZ film festival, and we all loved the film, including my "tweenage" kids who would have been some of the youngest in the audience, yet they too said it was now one of their favourite films. Predicament is a gem of a movie in that it delivered everything I could want from a film - great story, great laughs, great suspense and set to a fantastic musical score, with a catchy new Tim Finn song "Predicament" that I have been singing in my head ever since.

The cringe factor is definitely back in New Zealand cinema. This could have been a fantastic story (in fact, the book was.) Betrayal. Blackmail. Dysfunctional characters. Humour. Intrigue. Murder.

But somehow it just didn't hold together. The characters were too stereotypical and evoked too much cringe factor (with the exception of Jemaine Clement's Spook, who injected some genuine fun into the film.) The script lacked a vision for capturing the darkness of the themes of the film (or conversely lacked sufficient humour to make up for the lack of darkness.) Overall it was too light hearted for the themes covered in the story - a story of blackmail, revenge and murder. Such a story required a liberal dose of black humour, but the script barely delves into somewhat-grey humour.

There are genuinely funny moments. But overall it was a disappointment and a missed opportunity to translate Morrieson's dystopian world to the screen.

Great to be taken on a good old fashioned, tongue in cheek, dark comedic ride.. Stand out performances from lead and support cast just add to the roller coaster!

Encouraging to once again see a New Zealand film designed and shot with the cinema screen in mind, a credit to all involved!

The film makers have obviously 'made the most' of their resources, Predicament definitely has a big picture feel

Yet another example of the brave 'can do' ingenuity from independent NZ film makers.

Fun to watch, having read the book!

Thoroughly enjoyable, thank you!