Review of Wrecked (2010) by Cameron J — 09 Feb 2012

Wow, Adrien Brody looks like a "wreck" in that poster alone, and if you think that he looks rough enough in that, just wait until you see him in the film itself. He didn't get beat up; he got beat all kinds of directions and was left bloodied, battered and in tears, but I was still kind of chuckling a bit, because he broke his nose. That thing's crooked enough as it is, and plus, all of this nose-breakery it totally unrealistic on the film's part. If a regular nose is hit hard enough at the right angle, then you can puncture the person's brain, whereas if Adrien Brody broke his at the right angle, his head would probably explode, or at the very least, he would lose his power. I don't know what power that is exactly, but that second head that didn't get a mouth or the eyeballs for the sockets or "nostrils" has to have some kind of a purpose. Hey, just as long as he doesn't lose the power to act, I think we'll all be alright, because a world without an awesome actor like Mr. Brody here is a bleaker one. Still, that doesn't mean that a world that's filled with "just" Brody is perfect either, because although he's just too darn good for this film to wreck, it still hits its fair share of bumps along the road.

It's getting to the point where a complaint like "nothing happens" is way too, but really, that's the perfect way to describe this film, because, really, "nothing happens". Don't get me wrong, tedium is absent, but the editor seems to have left too. Sure, this is a bottle film, so that's the point, but phenomenal bottle films like "Cast Away" and the more recent "127 Hours" are relatively tight in their nothingness, enough so that you really feel the atmosphere of the situation, and then it's on to the next thing. Here, while the film isn't as terribly loose as I'm making it seem, way too many segments go on way too long, and it should go without saying that, after a while, you find yourself rather bored, if engaged in the film at all, and that's a shame, considering that this film does more than just leave Adrien Brody stuck in his beaten up car. There's more uniqueness and versatility in the premise than you'd expect, but its potential isn't explored as thoroughly as it should be, and the unsupplemented product seems to be nothing more than an overlong, suspenseless bore of a bottle thriller. However, that's the "unsupplemented" product, not the final, and that's a huge difference. True, this film doesn't hit as well as it should, what with its loose editing and limited inventiveness in tone, but it most certainly does not go unsupplemented, and it is its excellent supplements that make the film worth experiencing in the long run.

The tone may not be as dynamic as it should be, but the cinematography certainly is, which isn't to say that the production and photography are as lively as they are in some of your more broadley-scoped bottle films, but James Liston's shots in here are well-staged and dynamic enough for you to really observe and absorb the claustrophobia of the situation, and with the bleak darkness in the lighting adding to that sensation, it doesn't take long for you to figure out that this film is far from devoid of intrigue. Of course, Mr. Liston isn't the only person that brings that fact to light, and although director Michael Greenspan isn't terribly consistent in his tone of intrigue and refreshingness - in terms of films of this type -, he hits way more often than he misses. He's overemphatic about the atmosphere, but when Greenspan does make that emphasis, he really livens things up, and when he drops it, he sells quiet meditation, maybe to the point where you eventually fall out of the film, but for every moment where the film loses momentum, it'll kick the gas and get back that tension. Still, even then, the tone is not much more than an eternal routine of getting comfortably numb before slipping out of this world, followed by a hit of tension that still just flows along until steam is lost, and although that routineness really quickens the pacing out, after a while, the steam would just stay lost. However, what keeps this puppy pumping through and through, and makes it such a chilling, yet very enjoyable atmospheric thrill ride is, well, need I really say it? Bottle films have always been ultimate tests, and usually ultimate testament, to see just how powerful the ability to act can be, and sure enough, Adrien Brody continues that tradition, giving a tour de force performance at a man at the edge of both society and humanity. Stranded, broken, stricken with amnesia and on the run; no one knows exactly what we would do in a situation that intense, except maybe Brody, because with skillful authenticity, he executes the raw emotion and panic with powerful skill, as well as the eternal internal battle that is humanity with subtlety and grace, and whether he's kicking and flailing around, or just trying to quietly stay intact long enough to piece the rest of him together, Brody is killing it dead with a powerhouse presence that carries the tension of the film and once again shows us what it truly mean to be, not simply an actor, but a bonafide acting "talent".

Overall, its loose, familiar and sometimes unengaging interpretation of some potentially very unique spins on the bottle film genre keep it from being a highlight among films of its type, but with dynamic cinematography keeping things lively, more-often-than-not effective atmospheric storytelling by Michael Greenspan keeping things flowing and a simply brilliant, authentic and unrelentingly raw performance by Adrien Brody keeping things compelling, "Wrecked" stands as a very enjoyabale, workmanlike number in the bottle film genre, as well as a particularly notable testament to Brody's awesome acting abilities that make it worth the watch.

3/5 - Good.