Review of The Tall Man (2012) by Anthony A — 28 Sep 2012

Quite an interesting little thriller. The film's plot involves a withering mining town whose children are disappearing at an alarming rate. Many of the townspeople speak of a figure known as 'The Tall Man' as being responsible. Enter Jessica Biel's character, whose son is kidnapped. From this point the film starts to take many wild twists. Suffice it to say that by the end of the movie most of our assumptions about many main characters are turned on their heads. Laugier (the director) leads us through these many twists masterfully (even if some of them are not completely convincing). The film's final twist is oddly moving in a twisted sort of way.

Jessica Biel completely sheds her sexy persona which she so often displays in her other films and gives a unusually gripping and strong central performance The other actors range from 'bad' to 'okay'. The cinematography is good, but feels slightly 'too' polished for a film of this type. Still, though, some of the aerial shots are breathtaking. The film score is appropriate and quite good in places (approaching Hermannesque levels at some points). Overall, I would recommend this film if you have some time to kill and have an open mind (and, really, to accept the ending...you have to have a REALLY open mind). It is a good thrill ride that benefits from a strong central performance from Biel.