Archer Gray, Maiden Voyage Pictures, MindSmack Productions,
Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, Chloe Sevigny, Boyd Holbrook, Jacob Lofland
In a small town which survives by the coal mine, and accident kills all the men underground but one, the survivor, finds himself embroiled in the fallout of the accident. There is an inquiry, and he is the main witness, but if the company is found responsible, the town could not survive. Shortly after, a teen boy disappears and the Survivor and the Mother of the boy (Elizabeth Banks) who is a lonely wife of a mine executive join together to try to find the boy. As the web is spun, more and more secrets are being hidden.
This has been an interesting week, with no big Hollywood releases, but a number of indie films that are quite unique. This is another of those. This is a dark story of a town in trouble, built on one industry where everyone depends on the mine for their survival. There are a number of mysteries (and some that we are let in on that is a mystery to the townsfolk), and as the secrets pile up things get stickier and stickier. It’s gloomy, and it’s very depressing. I felt sad when this was over, yet it was a very compelling story. The script was well done, and not all the answers are given to you and it makes you think. I pondered this one for quite a while after it was over. I was impressed with Elizabeth Banks and her performance in this film. She carried us through a range of emotions and did a really good job. It certainly was not an easy role. Basically this is a film of character development and the focus is on the characters. There’s little action and the main emphasis is on the feelings of the characters. Keep that in mind as you go in, because though a disaster has just taken place, this is not a disaster movie. Rather it’s an effects of the disaster movie. This is a unique story, but if you give it a chance, it isn’t half bad.
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