FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
UNDERTOW
Gone is the Southern stupor of Director David Gordon Green’s last film, All the Real
Girls. Instead, Undertow is a nail-biting, coming-of-age tale. Even as you breathe a
sigh of relief, the sense of danger never dissipates - it’s only the calm before the storm. It’s also
the sense of foreboding and the corrosive atmosphere of the film’s desolate landscape that will
linger on.
Widower John Mudd (Dermot Mulroney) lives with his two sons in an isolated Georgian hog
farm. Their home is in a time warp. By appearance, the film could be set in the present or in the
1970s. With stuffed animals everywhere, and chainsaws and axes within reach, the macabre and
danger are omnipresent. Most of the farm work is done by Chris, the eldest, gangly son (Billy
Elliot’s Jamie Bell adopting a spot-on accent). The younger son, Tim (Devon Alan), is too
frail and sickly to help (but it is the passive Tim who pulls the strings in the family). Out of the
blue, John’s brother Deel (Josh Lucas) arrives fresh out of prison. John is willing to let bygones
be bygones and gives his brother a second chance. It doesn’t take long, though, for the uncle to
notice the tension between his brother and Chris. Feeling deprived, Dale has not only a personal
score to settle but is also seeking his share of John’s inheritance.
What begins as an homage to the Southern fried films of the ‘70s (almost anything with
Burt Reynolds) soon turns into a family horror film, not unlike The Night of the Hunter (1955), but with a tone all its own. Josh Lucas clearly relishes being the
out-of-control uncle. The charm he has exuded in his earlier film roles is used to a malevolent
effect here. And intriguingly, Chris and Tim are hardly babes in the woods as the film implies
that there really is no such thing as lost innocence. (Luckily for one so delicate, Tim can
certainly run and keep up with his older brother.) As the two brothers flee from their uncle,
running into the woods has hardly been scarier. Kent Turner
DVD Extras: The overarching theme of the extras is how much fun it was working on the
set. In the commentary, director Green discusses how a lot of the crew also worked on his
previous movies, and he jokes they “returned for more torture,” and it’s
not hard to see why. While some of Green’s influences are quite
obvious, it’s interesting to hear him point out specific flourishes that would generally be looked
over, from the opening
United Artists logo that was dug out of the archives to
a ‘70s televangelist. The commentary also marks Jamie Bell’s first time watching the film
in its final version, and he is not shy about getting excited about parts he
generally thinks are cool. The behind-the-scenes look bolsters the good times image of the commentary. It
stresses the importance of location and how Savannah,
Georgia really set the tone of the movie. But it also shows the many
problems the crew encountered, such as uncooperative weather, angry
horseshoe crab fisherman, and rough terrain. How many behind-the-scenes
documentaries do you see in which the cast and crew collectively count their
chigger bites? The DVD also includes two deleted scenes that don’t carry the same tone of
Undertow and are a little too creepy for their own good. Who wants that
much creepiness when you’re having such a good time? Molly Eichel
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