Originally posted: 20 March 2009
12 Days: 12 Movies
Day Nine (Part 2): THE HUNTING PARTY
(2007, 100 mins, Dir. Richard Shepard)
Put Simply: If you thought the Eastern European political situation was too fucked up to be true, you're about right.
Stars: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg
Disclaimer: I know bugger all about Eastern European politics. For good or bad, I'm largely indifferent to any politics, and yes, I'm perfectly aware that I'm fortunate enough to live in a country where that viewpoint doesn't dratatically affect my life. So to that end, watching a movie based on real events out there wasn't on my list of ways to spend my time. This was recommended, however, by a mate who knows a good movie when he sees one (although we often disagree on what's a shite one), so I'm boung by geek-law to give it a go.
Three american television journalists go on a mission, inadvertently posing as CIA, to apprehend a Bosnian war criminal. The mission becomes more personal to each of our protagonists as the film goes on, not knowing who they can trust, or quite what they'll do if they catch him.
Sounds heavy? It's surprisingly upbeat actually. It's hardly laugh-a-minute material, obviously, but the gallows-humour in the story is entirely believeable, as is the brutality that accomanies it. The three leads all give convincing, sympathetic performances, and while my heart wasn't in my mouth, I did care what happened to them. Perhaps that's because we're shown what their enemies are capable of, and we know that it's a happy ending or not, with nothing in between. Whatever the reason, I found this very easy to watch, largely thanks to Terrence Howard's opening narration, and Richard Gere's mix of humility and cockiness.
Not a film I'd have watched if it hadn't been recommended, and I don't recall it making a splash when it landed originally, but that also goes for a lot of good movies :)
Cheers T, I'd recommend you a movie, but you'd only tell me it's crap :p
I reckon: 7/10
Tomorrow: Love Actually and 30 Days of Night
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
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