Faults

This is certainly not quite the movie I thought it was going to be. The premise plainly welcomes a purely dramatic approach to the narrative, but film-maker Riley Stearns also adopts a very dry, dark comedic tone that's mostly more direly awkward than funny. 'Faults' is a movie for a very niche audience.

It's such an oddity. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a great actress who has more than proven herself in a dynamic variety of roles, and her wry mannerisms are a treasure. She readily holds our attention with every passing scene. Chris Ellis and Beth Grant are both solid performers with a long list of credits between them. Yet it's Leland Orser, characteristically a supporting player in any given feature, who has the lead role in 'Faults.' Capable and steady though he is in any part, here he deftly maneuvers the demands of the protagonist - and more than that, he's a swell scene partner with Winstead. The crumbling confidence Orser bears as Ansel works in wonderful tandem with Winstead's resolute calm to keep us engaged, even through early scenes that are rough around the edges. The phenomenal turn that comes in the last segment of the film, giving 'Faults' brilliant new life, allows Winstead to take center stage, and we see the force of personality she carries so well. The much more nuanced portrayals she and Orser give us near the conclusion are alone worth the ride.

I just wish the rest of the movie were as consistently superb as the last 20 or so minutes. The acrid sense of humor about the screenplay doesn't mesh well with the dramatic overtones - in fact, it feels more like a clash for no small part of the runtime. The twist turns everything on its head, but 'Faults' relies too much on that exhilarating development to shoulder the heft of the picture. There's a long sense of something missing, of the constituent parts just not entirely clicking in the way that's intended. That's unfortunate, because considered as a whole, this really is a pretty fantastic movie.

It's a fine view for a general audience, though fans of the cast - and of Winstead especially - will find this most rewarding. A marvelous ending mostly makes up for the frailties that peek through earlier in the movie, and while uneven, this is very much worth watching. 'Faults' isn't what I anticipated - and ultimately, I'm thankful for that.

I was very impressed with this film. We follow a down and out Cult novelist who specializes in understanding the methodology of how cults control individuals. The novelist is divorced, homeless, broke, suicidal and in debt with some very nasty former business partner when we meet him. When two parents approach him desperate for help, he agrees to help them with an extreme intervention with their cult involved daughter. The goal is to deprogram her. Arranging a kidnapping, he abducts the girl and isolates her in a motel room for days attempting to mentally break her down and understand her cult programing. It was engaging and completely unpredictable. I'm not totally satisfied how the story concluded but found the entire ride fun and intriguing.

I'll always remember Leland Orser for his nervous role as a surviving victim of Se7en's John Doe. I've probably seen him in bit parts since without realizing it's him, but Faults reveals his talent as he steps up to the task of a leading role. He's perfect as the cheap crook and Riley Stearns matches the darkly comic nature of his character with an ideal introduction. Stearns idiosyncratic style borrows from the best of modern cinema - the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson - but it pays off for a surreal, slightly stilted, but hilarious tone. Its premise of cult manipulation is immediately compelling, and it frames its story in a way that's offered skimmed over when it's portrayed on film and never committed to a full 90 minutes. Faults is a very confident debut, but it's a shame that the film wilts in its second half. It trades humour for a psychological thriller, and while it digs deeper into the characters, it loses its way by breaking its world. If only it didn't stumble in this final stretch, the twists in the ending could have had more impact. Still worth the watch.

7/10

I thanked myself for watching this movie. Why? Because I simply stumbled into this movie by accident, because another great movie with Mary Elizabeth Winstead got me curious about this seemingly normal looking actress, who has such a mysterious, yet natural looking charisma, that I keep getting mesmerized by her acting performances...

This story is something else. It mistakenly looks like a somewhat silly comedy at the start. But soon I noticed the acting was a lot better than any other average comedy and the jokes were quite dark and painful, yet spot on effective AND FUNNY.

Then the acting and the story got even better half way through, with lots of quirky, mindboggling plot turns.

And then the final part of this movie really convinced me I had just seen one of the best quirky, yet simultaneously uplifting comedies of the last year.

Probably best suited for an arthouse audience, who likes quirky, dark comedies, with brilliant plot turns and subtle acting performances.

Endnote: look at the poster. What do you see?

Seeing the interesting premise as well as being a big fan of Riley Stearns' second feature (The Art of Self-Defense) made me want to check this one out. Comparing the two they have a lot in common, themes like loneliness, being in control of your own life and the need to belong, as well as a good amount of dark humor are all in there. Even though it does slow down a bit midway through, the characters are interesting and the dialogues witty enough to carry the viewer through to a great ending.

P. S. I was really glad to see Leland Orser as a lead after so many supporting/smaller roles and boy did he nail this Ansel character, he absolutely stole the show (Winstead was also great as usual).