Suicide Theory, The (2015)
Starring Steve Mouzakis, Leon Cain, Joss McWilliam
Directed by Dru Brown
Distributed by Freestyle Releasing
While suicide certainly isn’t something to be taken lightly, imagine someone who wishes for nothing but the end to come to him, only to be denied repeatedly… jeez, talk about NEVER catching a friggin break!
In director Dru Brown’s dramatic/crime-fringed The Suicide Theory, we’re introduced to a man who is at the end of his proverbial rope, and even with the assistance of a qualified “professional,” he simply can’t get over the hump – and what is the “hump,” you ask? Well, a small wrinkle in his plans is that he cannot die…yes, I said that correctly – the man is unfit to kick the bucket.
Steve (Mouzakis) is a cold and remorseless hitman – anytime, anyplace, anyone, as long as someone has the dough to spend, he’ll waste them without batting an eyelash – quite the efficient killer, if I do say so myself. The only problem is, his behavior has only been exacerbated by the tragic passing of his wife and unborn child. When an already austere and inhumane individual adds more fuel to the fire, there really is no turning back, and that, my little lambs, is a very frightening prospect to behold.
Percival (Cain) is a man on the completely other end of the spectrum – since the somber loss of a loved one, he can’t find the urge to carry on, and has attempted self-slaughter on many an occasion, to no avail. His last resort (and professedly best chance) comes in the meeting of Steve the hitman, so he tosses a very large lump of greenbacks at the hired gun, and awaits his fate with open arms… and those arms remain wide open for a long time as Percival’s self-imposed theory misses the mark multiple times. He thinks that if he doesn’t see it coming, or at a moment when he doesn’t want to die, that the kill will be successful – sorry Percival, but your powers of prognostication are as horrible as your choice of ceasing your existence. A connection begins to grow between the killer and the victim (can he really be called that), and a whole new side is displayed for both characters as the movie moves along – dysfunction amidst the two is evident; yet, they reach a type of sustained friendship that ultimately will make each attempt on Percival’s life that much harder to take a shot at (bad choice of words).
Brown’s direction weaves both violence in Mouzakis’ character and hopelessness in Cain’s, ultimately forging a bond between the two, and it really works. You come to see each man as a damaged individual, both by life’s unforgiving hands, and their own frayed psyche as a result of such pain. This is MUCH more than a film about someone who can’t die, as much as it could be looked at as someone (or something) doesn’t want him to die, and that’s pretty powerful stuff. Both men grab their roles and give it everything they’ve got, and combined with the inspired use of camera angles in many shots, there are more than a few memorable moments in this presentation.
On the whole, I can definitely recommend The Suicide Theory to those who are looking for a more-than-powerful film that delivers a strong message, and while some might find it a bit slow, it makes up in interpretation and the conveyance of a statement. Give this one a look when it’s available – you won’t be disappointed.
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Film
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