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JAILBAIT
Directed & Written by Brett C. Leonard.
Produced by Dan O’Meara, Brett C. Leonard, Rene Bastian, Linda Moran & Corbin Day.
Cinematographer: John Campbell.
Editor: Ron Len.
Music by: Ed Tomney.
Released by: Kindred Media Group.
Country of Origin: USA. 90 min. Rated R.
With: Michael Pitt, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Laila Robins & David Zayas.

Randy (Michael Pitt) has, in a manner of speaking, screwed himself over. He’s been sentenced to 25 years for a minor infraction, though because of two previous pot-related crimes, the three-strikes-and-your-out mandate has him doing hard time for next to nothing, vandalizing a car. His cellmate Jake, on the other hand, is in for life without parole for slitting his wife’s throat soon after they were married. Jailbait examines their tentative friendship, which is not typical in the least as Randy becomes sexually confused by Jake’s demands (that he tie the bottom of his shirt in a bow), and Jake’s insistence on having crude conversations about past sexual experiences. This leads to a long night of abrasive discussion, where each side puts up a front that might be broken one way or another.

Director Brett C. Leonard’s dialog is in tune with a certain male masculine tone and frame of reference, matched with dark humor. But Jailbait is almost too self-contained. Of course, for a film taking place inside a California prison, there is not much room to go, and Leonard’s setting is virtually confined to a prison cell with two inmates. On the outset, I was reminded of Steve Buscemi’s film Animal Factory, also about a younger inmate getting taken under the quasi-wing of an older inmate. Here, Leonard adds the sexual complications to the situation. But the level of ambiguity is not adequately explored, as what is left unsaid or emoted only adds to the minimalism of the circumstances. Like the direction, the screenplay is only affecting and worthwhile in spurts, when the truth of the material clicks with the actors or vice versa.

As with any play, which the film is very close to being (and may have been better as), the acting is a major part of what will add to its appeal. This, too, is a mixed bag. Michael Pitt’s character maybe part of the problem, as Randy's confused, slow state of mind can only allow so much for the actor to interpret. Written without much dimension, it is not clear why Randy is in his predicament, aside from his obvious jail sentence. On the other side of the coin, Stephen Adly Guirgis is terrific as the older, coarser, and more sexually ambivalent prisoner. He understands his character just splendidly and puts Leonard’s minimalist tone on its side as he rips through the long dialog passages like a pro. In comparison, it’s a shame Randy is, for lack of a better term, sort of a dolt. Jack Gattanella
August 4, 2006