Saturday, July 25, 2015

Movie review - "Felony" (2013) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

This starts with a bang - a superbly directed chase and shoot out sequence, done with freshness and energy, followed by a gripping hit and sun sequence. The subsequent action plays out well and you feel you're in good hands and starting to think this could be a little noir/drama classic. But what really should be the first act only takes about 50 minutes, and the movie doesn't have any other ideas.

It sets up all these potentially intriguing situations and characters - Melissa George knowing the mother Sarah Roberts, cop Jai Courtney falling for Roberts, the case Joel Edgerton is working on - but doesn't do anything with them, not really. You keep waiting for Tom Wilkinson to force Edgerton to do something dodgy, or Edgerton and Roberts to have this bond, or George to do anything, really, but they don't. And the enigmatic, confusing ending is frustrating - so Courtney's going to dob them in? Or Not? Or something?

It's a shame because that first act really is excellent.

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