Blast of Silence

Every once in awhile I get to see a really good film that has slipped though the through the cracks, and has widely been ignored despite its quality.  When this happens its always a pleasure because it feels like I’m discovering a film that almost no one has heard of.  That can be easily said about the gritty 1961 film noir from writer, director, and star Allen Baron.  This hard as nails crime film is a little known film and is more then worth the effort to seek out for a viewing.

            The film opens with some great shots showing a man, Frank Bono, entering New York via a train.  Frankie Bono is not in New York for pleasure though, he is there on business, and his business is killing.  Bono is a professional hit man for hire and has been called to New York to assassinate a mid level mobster. With little time wasted Bono is on the job and begins to plot out how and when to kill his victim. 

            Aside from his job, Bono has more to worry about as New York is his hometown, and his hometown is filled with lots of bad personal memories.  He fears being back in New York as he thinks he will have to relive his painful past and deal with people he thought were out of his life forever.  Unluckily for him he runs into an old pal one night and though him runs into an old girlfriend of his.  This naturally complicates things, as Bono does not know how to cope with his personal feelings and makes his time in New York even more difficult.

            That’s what really makes this film interesting, it features a hit man that is not really a complete tough guy but a very troubled man.  In most films featuring hit men, like Le Samourai or The Professional, hit men are cool and almost glamorized.  Frank Bono is not this at all.  He is a deeply troubled man whose past haunts him, and in a wonderful scene he reflects back on his troubled childhood in an orphanage.  Now that he is an adult and he is scared deeply and this is made evident by his lack of communication skills.  He is a loner like most hit men in movies, but he is sadder and darker then the average film hit man.  He is also a hit man that is not particularly good at his job, as he often second guesses himself and makes mistakes based on emotion.  That is interesting to see this different take on a hit man story, as it is often routine.  There is a really human element because of that. 

            What is really great though about this film is that it has a great mood and a strong execution of film making by director Allen Baron.  The film is a really sharp one as it makes lots of right decisions and very few if any wrong ones.  It glides at a nice pace and the film never has a dull moment really.  The film also has a feel to it that is just pure film noir, as it looks and sounds just like a tough crime film should.  Its cinematography is effective and captures some great shots of New York city.  Blast of Silence does a really good job of showing the dark side of the city and gives this film a gritty feel.  Historically it also is one of the first films to be shot all on location and you get a reel sense of the city and its mood.

            The film is also a very short one that has little imperfections and is a very tight piece of film.  Blast of Silence clocks in at a brisk seventy-seven minuets but it is very well rounded as a whole.  The film kind of washes over you and before you know it the film is already over.  It ends quickly but it tells a fascinating story with a healthy dose of style.  It is a genre film that hits its marks and does it well.

            What is really interesting is that the film was made for nearly nothing at all in 1960 with a first time director and a leading man that was not a professional actor.  The director and star Allen Baron had really no experience in filmmaking, and was widely known as a cartoonist.  Baron’s lack of training though does nothing to harm the film, as he actually does a wonderful job of both acting and directing.  His acting is cold and intense, yet it is very effective.  He also has a face to remember, as it looks like its chiseled from stone.  Baron also dominates the his scenes in the film and makes for a fascinating character to watch.  His direction is very solid as well and he makes a film that seems incredibly focused.  For a first time director he makes a film a seasoned pro could be proud of even.

            This little haunting gem is a marvel of independent filmmaking that has lots of style and a smooth feel.  It is a short, concise, and brutal genre film that leaves little to complain about.  As far as a genre film goes it hits all of its marks, and makes for a moody and enjoyable film noir.  It has been lost for years now but is finally on DVD, and I think it is very much worth seeking out for a view.  It’s a sleek little crime film that is sure to please.

4/ 4 Strars    

The Happening

            The Happening is the kind of film that we seem to see every summer.  An end of the world film, where some kind of threat endangers the world as we know it.  Sometimes you get something good like War of the Worlds and sometimes you get something horrible like the Day After Tomorrow.   The Happening is a film that is not the best of its kind and is probably one of the worst films of the year.

            What is really flawed with this film is that is just plainly and simply hits lots of false notes and has moments that just do not work.  It is a film of constantly silly moments and unbelievable events.  The film itself has a silly enough story, but many plots of these films have silly plots.  What makes the difference is the delivery.  The delivery here is less than impressive and the twists in the films here are just ridicules.  The story itself revolves a large out break of mass suicides in New York City and the chaos soon spreads west.  In the city people are running of roofs, stabbing themselves and multiply other violent and silly ways. 

Trying to escape the chaos is a science teacher in Philadelphia played by Mark Wahlberg and his wife Zooey Deschanel.  The film follows their struggles from there as they run for their lives.  They travel across the countryside and find nothing but more trouble, but of course there would not be film if they didn’t.  The film follows their struggle to survive and it just goes down hill from there.

What’s wrong here is just how silly the set up and execution of the film is.  It is a film that has a dull build up and a terrible pay off.  It is a film that is very anti climatic, with really nothing to get excited about.  I wish I could tell all of you the supposed twist here but I am a firm believer in not revealing endings of films.  Let me tell you this one is a train wreck and is on the level with the horrible The Village.  When the twist of this film is revealed it just opens up more question and doubt in the films credibility.  On top of it all, the end is really very preachy and silly.  If you bore me, like this film did, then don’t preach to me.

M. Night Shyamalan has really fallen from grace with me here.  With this film and the unspeakably bad The Village and the disappointing Lady in the Water, Shyamalan has been on a loosing streak.  This is a really rough patch and he seems to have lost his way.  In his last three films he seems to be more interested in the twists and plot devices of the films then the actual films themselves.  How can the man who made such exceptional films like The Six Sense, Unbreakable and Signs make this mess?  I think he still has good films in him but he needs to stay away from plot gimmicks and rely more on solid stories and characters.  He also needs to make more plausible or at least interesting set ups for his stories.   

It is sad to see a talented man make such a dull film like this.  Not only a dull film but it also has moments so ridicules that I was laughing out loud.  I was not laughing in a good way either.  When you find out what is killing the people I cant see how you don’t laugh.  I might like the ludicrous plot, or at least forgive it, if the rest of the film worked.  Nothing in the film really works very well as it all seems so stale and dull.  I was not frightened and I did not care.  The Happening is a film that builds to nothing and leads to plenty of yawning by the end.  This film is mismanaged and deadly dull, it also is one of the years worst.