Review of Stander (2003) by Craig H — 23 Nov 2007

This film, despite some historical inaccuracies, is really a must-see. The soundtrack alone makes it worth seeing, but the South African cityscapes and internal cinematography show what art can do with ordinary gritty settings like banks, prisons, police stations, bedrooms and so on. Each such place is like a character in the film. Even the South Florida setting at the end evokes the mid 80s nearly perfectly.

Thomas Jane is a totally believable lead especially since he had to put on the accent. His aura of guilt and self-punishment and his journey from one side of the unjust law to the unruly side is believable in every particular, even if it isn't historically exact.

One of the few heist movies to have a political theme. Just another good reason to see it.