Two stars. Rated R, for dramatic intensity and brief profanity
By Derrick Bang
Those who’ve ever wondered about
the degree to which a single guiding hand can influence a project, need look no
further.
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| By all indications, young Louis (Aiden Longworth) and his father Peter (Aaron Paul) deeply love each other. But appearances can be deceiving, and this particular family dynamic includes quite a few uncomfortable secrets. |
This is a textbook example of how
a bad director can ruin a film.
Mind you, there’s plenty of blame
to go around. Several of the primary actors deliver entirely wrong readings of
their characters; the story’s overall tone is completely wrong; and there’s no
consistent point of reference for viewers to grasp.
But while multiple individuals
can be faulted, it all comes down to the guy in charge, in this case Alexandre
Aja. He failed to draw better performances from his cast; he couldn’t maintain
a consistent atmosphere; and — most crucially — he clearly didn’t understand
the material, and didn’t have the faintest idea how to present it properly.
Because — and this is the sad
part — there’s clearly a decent story buried in the wreckage of this film.
Actor-turned-scripter Max Minghella took a respectable shot at best-selling
British author Liz Jensen’s 2004 thriller, The
Ninth Life of Louis Drax, and the results could have been much, much
better. But Aja’s crude sensibilities lie in the realm of gory horror such as Piranha 3D and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes; he lacks the
sensitivity required for a tale that requires such delicate handling.
In fairness, the premise is
challenging. The story is told (mostly) from the point of view of a 9-year-old
boy in a hospital coma ward, and Aja spends much of the film immersing us in
the ongoing care of coma patients; that’s a tough, depressing sell. It may have
been mostly unusual and intriguing in Jensen’s book; confronted with cinematic
visuals, it’s heartbreaking ... and difficult to surmount, as the narrative
progresses.
But Aja makes his first
significant blunder even sooner, during a prologue in which young Louis (Aidan
Longworth) matter-of-factly shares his back-story, growing up as an
accident-prone kid who — to his parents’ horror — endured all manner of freak
calamities during his tender years. This weird flashback montage is off-putting
and fairy tale-esque, with cartoonish touches that suggest we’re in for some
sort of fantasy: a notion reinforced by the introduction of a grotesque, deep-voiced
sea creature who seems to be the boy’s spirit guide.
But this isn’t a fairy tale, or a
parable, as eventually becomes clear; it’s a mystery. Sort of. Maybe. Or
perhaps it’s a suspense thriller. Aja obviously can’t decide.
