La conscience tranquille

A clever use of combining past and present to explain what is happening on screen is used throughout THE LESSER EVIL by director Jack Mackay. The story basically involves men who made a bad mistake in the past and have had their crime affecting their lives ever since. A reunion proposed by one of the men turns into something more than a mere gathering of old friends--and leads to another crime.

This is an independent film without wide distribution and it's little known among fans of the suspense genre. It's worth watching for the more than competent performances from a splendid cast, particularly the adult actors COLM FEORE, TONY GOLDWYN, ARLISS HOWARD and David PAYMER.

It's more a character study of the four friends than a straight thriller, but as the story unwinds--after a beginning narrated by ARLISS HOWARD as a priest giving a graveside sermon on a dead friend--it keeps switching back and forth between past and present to explain what is happening, each aspect of the story made clearer by revealing the past crime concurrently with the present action.

It's an effective way of telling a complex story of guilt and fear brought on by the killing of an individual and the extremes the four went to in an effort to cover up the crime.

The twist at the end comes as a surprise because nothing about the story is predictable. It's a well done independent film and one well worth seeing.

I liked this movie. Yes, the plot twist at the end was awesome--never saw that coming! The actors chosen to play the parts was EXCELLENT!!! Colm Feore is a top-notch actor, and he was the main reason I wanted to watch--anything he acts in is Outstanding! This movie had a Lesson--everything we do in life stays with us--the mistakes of the past, when unresolved, follow us until we do resolve them in some way. The guys, however, choose to keep their past secret and poor Derrick was the..........Nah, you can figure that out when you watch the movie! ;) You know, Why this Movie is titled, The Lesser Evil! :)

This film was one of the best I've seen of its kind in quite some time. This is a psychological drama about four friends, who 22 years ago unintentionally committed a double homicide and then successfully covered it up. Now the police have discovered one of the bodies and a gun they can link to one of the four. The story unfolds as the friends, who haven't spoken since the event, come together to decide how to handle the situation. Throughout the drama, the story flashes back to the original story when they were teenagers, so you really have two suspenseful interconnected stories unfolding simultaneously.

The film shows the twisted judgments made by desperate men in a crisis situation. It was difficult not to be asking oneself, `What would I do in that situation?' I really only had one plot criticism and that is why did the police not ask about the destroyed TV set? If you see the film, you will know what I mean.

The film was excellent in almost every regard. The story was gripping with numerous plot twists that kept the viewer guessing as to what would happen next, all the way to the end. The portrayals of these frantic characters on the brink of distraction, desperately trying to come up with a solution that would keep them out of jail was riveting. The direction and photography was very good, without the need for special sets or effects.

The acting was terrific. Colm Fiore was outstanding as Derek, the owner of the gun who was being questioned by the police. He plays a character who is simultaneously terrified, despondent, angry and devious and switches back and forth between these states flawlessly. David Paymer gives the best performance I've seen by him to date as the underhanded lawyer trying to shift blame away from himself. Even Tony Goldwyn, who often comes off a little stiff, gave an excellent performance.

The acting by the young cast was also marvelous. It was a commendable job by casting and director David MacKay to find four actors who resembled the older actors so much and still had the talent to play their parts so convincingly. Of these, Marc Worden who played young Ivan was a particualar standout.

MacKay's best accomplishment was his ability to convincingly draw the right emotional mix out of the cast. The hand held flight scenes in the woods were well done and enhanced the dramatic effect. There was one scene with George (David Paymer) brandishing a hand gun that was done with a wide angle lens that was a bit amateurish (it made it look like he was holding a howitzer), but otherwise the camera work was well done with visual perspectives that enhanced the impact of the scenes.

MacKay's weaving of the two stories (past and present) in post production was masterful and kept the film moving at breakneck speed. Just when you needed an explanation to put some present event in context, there was the next flashback, as if the director anticipated the questions the viewer was asking himself.

Overall, this was a taut, well crafted film. It was great to see a low budget independent film with so much entertainment value. I gave it a 9/10. Hunt it down and find it at your local video store. You won't regret it.

I immediatly found myself engrossed into The Lesser Evil, it's strong cast and fascinating plot gripped me and I expected something really quite special.

Alas it wasn't to be, but the film certainly does have it's merits regardless.

It has a real Stephen King feel to it, telling the story of 4 friends who meet up for the first time in 20yrs and are forced to face their sins. Set across both present and flashbacks I'm almost surprised it's not Kings work.

Starring several industry veterans including Colm "Storm of the Century" Feore and David Paymer along with current popular comedy star Adam Scott the performances were never going to be in question.

The plot starts off strong but starts to struggle, by the end it's devoid of originality and the fascination had long since waned.

This is one of those films that genuinely saddened me as I hoped for something really quite good here. It's still interesting and the cast are fantastic, but it feels like potential not only squandered but thoroughly butchered.

The Good:

Some competent writing

The Bad:

Some of the young to old casting is awful

Loses steam

Naff finale which doesn't really make much sense

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Religion isn't part of reality, wait no I already knew that

"Lesser Evil" is a 1998 film starring Colm Feore, David Paymer, Tony Goldwyn and Arliss Howard. It's very well directed by David Mackay, and the script by Jeremy Levine and Steven Schultze is excellent. The film starts at a funeral presided over by a priest (Howard) who then tells the story in flashback. As teenagers, four buddies - Ivan (the priest, played as a young man by Marc Worden), George (Alan Scott/Paymer), Derek (Jonathan Scarfe/Feore) and Frank (Steven Petrarca/Goldwyn) are being crazed, drunken, out of control lunatics in the woods when George (Adam Scott/Paymer grown up) shoots into a car, gravely injuring the driver. The driver has a shotgun on his lap. He also has something else, which is revealed later in the film. The kids become completely hysterical and, as the man isn't dead but seems close to it, they attempt to rush him to a hospital. Then they change their minds and take him back to the woods, where he dies hours later, helped along by one of them when they see police lights.

Twenty years later, the gun that killed the man has surfaced, and the police question its owner, Derek (Feore), who has called them all together. George has become an attorney, Frank a police officer, Ivan a priest, and Derek's business is failing. He has made a mess of talking to the police and is a wreck. Ivan thinks they should go to the police and tell them what happened all those years ago, though they had all made a pact to protect George and keep quiet. Then they realize that George has been getting everything on tape and that Frank has been keeping a big secret from them all these years.

Fascinating story of the ramifications of guilt even after "getting away" with something and how guilt molded the lives and personalities of each man and changed their relationships with one another. In that way, it's a tiny bit like "Mystic River." With Colm Feore in it, the acting can be nothing less than spectacular. He is one of my favorite actors, having seen in perform at Stratford in Canada several times. The leads are all excellent, and the young men who play them as teens are superb.

There's a twist at the end. You won't want to miss this superlative drama that could only come from an independent filmmaker, as Hollywood is too busy with cartoon characters and blowing up things.