Review of Fierce People (2006) by Frédéric B — 16 Dec 2010

A mildly interesting look at how a kid who has nothing to call his own would respond when thrown into a situation where he is surrounded by people who are incredibly wealthy. Liz Earl (Diane Ladd) is a massage therapist who is struggling to keep it together when circumstances force her to seek refuge with the incredibly wealthy Ogden Osborne (Donald Sutherland), a man she once treated when he was hospitalized.

Her son, Finn (Anton Yelchin), meets and becomes friends with Ogden's granddaughter, Maya (Kristen Stewart). The film was good at setting up the premise, and developing the relationship between the two teenagers, but the film seemed to lose its way part way through.

Instead of a gentle coming of age story about two people from completely different backgrounds, it became a dark, psychological thriller with patricide and sexual deviancy and a host of other twists that left this viewer somewhat bewildered.

The unifying thread is the performance of Anton Yelchin. Without him, this could have been an unbearable mess. However, given the cast, including Elizabeth Perkins as Maya's mother, this film should have had a whole lot more going for it.

The fierce people of the title may refer to this "tribe" of the super-wealthy, or it may only be a reference to the tribe that Finn's absent father studies in South America, but as a film, this was a disappointment.