Review of Imperium (2016) by Britton D — 11 Sep 2016

Daniel Radcliffe with performances like these is stepping out of the shadow of being Harry Potter.

Imperium starring Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Sam Trammell, and directed by Daniel Ragussis. The film is about a FBI agent trying to infiltrate white supremacist groups and gain intel about a possible domestic terrorist attack. Radcliffe plays Nate Foster, a reclusive introverted idealist agent, who gets sucked into wanting to make a difference at the agency. Toni Collette plays his FBI handler, Angela, who is able to convince Nate he has the skills needed to infiltrate the groups and find out if someone is planning an attack.

Daniel Radcliffe is fantastic in the role. I've never seen him better since Harry Potter. I haven't watched Swiss Army Man yet, but if his performance is as good as this then I think he is finally starting to establish himself outside of the iconic character. He transforms twice in the movie. At first you see him as the nerdy introverted odd FBI agent. He sits alone at his desk with his headphones on and gets crap from the other agents. At first I had no clue how this character was going to be able to transform into a white supremacist. Radcliffe is able to accomplish this, and the character is believable in the undercover role. He constantly has to think on his feet adjusting to every situation to make sure his cover isn't blown. I can understand people who might criticize the character because he is almost too perfect. He almost never screws up, and when he does he is able to cover his tracks. He also always has the answer for any situation, and seems to know everything about anything. I didn't have any issue with this because he does struggle and the decisions Foster makes are believable in the framework of the story. I do think more setup in the beginning about how smart Foster is would have eased the believability of his actions throughout the course of the movie.

Toni Collette is great, as she usually is, in anything she does. She plays a believable jaded FBI agent whose budget and department have been pushed to the side due to international terrorist threats. I liked her character and it served as a touchstone for Foster throughout the course of the story. Foster needed Angela so he could have someone to remind him of why he doing the job. Foster began to relate to the suspects he was investigating, and while he didn't agree with them he felt for some of the them. Foster wanted to try and save them and bring them back to normalcy. When the job was to make sure they don't blow anyone up. The actors who played the skinheads and Klan leaders all do good jobs. Sam Trammell, of True Blood fame, stood out and was great. His character provided a different context to the typical stereotype of a white supremacist. His character reminded me of the quote from Speed, yes I know silly, but it fits. He is crazy, not stupid.

The strength of the movie is built on the strong performances and the griping tension the story builds as Foster goes deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. The first part of the movie may be a little slow, but it does build upon itself. Ragussis does a great job of building suspense as Foster starts to question if his cover has been blown. Every time Foster is forced to think on his feet you wonder if he is going to have to make a quick escape. My heart was pounding the last fifteen to twenty minutes of the film wondering what was going to happen next and being engrossed in the story. I also didn't expect some of the twists the story took, and was pleasantly surprised when they happened. The only negative in the plot of the film is how quickly Foster moves from group to group of white supremacists. After he does the group left behind isn't touched on again, or not in a meaningful way. It is also hard to judge how much time has elapsed throughout the course of the movie. It seems like a great amount of time is progressing, but I think Ragussis could have done a better job in conveying the progression.

The only other negative I have for the film is the artsy white supremacist montages dispersed throughout the course of the movie. One at the start, and maybe one close to the end would have been more than enough to get the point across, and they become redundant and lose value with the frequency of use in the movie. This however is a minor distraction from an otherwise well put together film. I enjoyed watching Imperium, and would watch it again, because of how well Radcliffe performs and how well the movie builds suspense This one is worth seeing, and you can rent it now since it was only a limited release in theaters. It may not be for everyone, but if you like a good tight suspenseful story then you should enjoy it.