MOVIE OF THE WEEK (6/7/13): THE PURGE
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane, Max Burkholder, Rhys Wakefield, Edwin Hodge, Tony Oller and Arija Bareikis
WRITER(S): James DeMonaco
DIRECTOR: James DeMonaco
60 SECOND PLOT SYNOPSIS: It's 2022. The unemployment rate is 1 percent. Crime is virtually non-existent in America thanks to an outfit simply known as the "New Founding Fathers" ... With one exception: "The Purge" – a.k.a. a 12 hour span that takes place from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. one night in March where all crime – including murder – is legal (except against the country's leaders, of course).
James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is doing quite well in this new America – and he couldn't be less concerned about the purge if you paid him. After all, he sells security systems to all of his neighbors in the gated community he calls home with his wife Mary (Lena Headey).
While James and Mary are seemingly at ease with the situation and the cathartic release it provides this new prosperous nation, their son Charlie (Max Burkholder) is happier tinkering and snooping around the house via his modified baby doll tank camera. (See the movie; you'll understand what I mean quickly.) The couple's increasingly-out-of-control daughter Zoey (Adelaide Kane), however, is more concerned about spending time with her older boyfriend Henry (Tony Oller), of whom her father is not a fan. But while the rest of America may be out robbing, raping, pillaging and causing general chaos, the Sandin family will be locked away in their home waiting for sunrise.
So what happens when something – or should that be someone – puts the Sandin family front and center into the purge? The events will follow will change them forever ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST: Fans of what-would-you-do-in-this-scenario-films, people who fantasize about revenge, assault (or worse), people who enjoyed A Clockwork Orange or Death Wish but with a more modern appeal and less preachiness, fans of the D12 song "Devil's Night" or those who "enjoyed" the events of that inspired the song ...
James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is doing quite well in this new America – and he couldn't be less concerned about the purge if you paid him. After all, he sells security systems to all of his neighbors in the gated community he calls home with his wife Mary (Lena Headey).
While James and Mary are seemingly at ease with the situation and the cathartic release it provides this new prosperous nation, their son Charlie (Max Burkholder) is happier tinkering and snooping around the house via his modified baby doll tank camera. (See the movie; you'll understand what I mean quickly.) The couple's increasingly-out-of-control daughter Zoey (Adelaide Kane), however, is more concerned about spending time with her older boyfriend Henry (Tony Oller), of whom her father is not a fan. But while the rest of America may be out robbing, raping, pillaging and causing general chaos, the Sandin family will be locked away in their home waiting for sunrise.
So what happens when something – or should that be someone – puts the Sandin family front and center into the purge? The events will follow will change them forever ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST: Fans of what-would-you-do-in-this-scenario-films, people who fantasize about revenge, assault (or worse), people who enjoyed A Clockwork Orange or Death Wish but with a more modern appeal and less preachiness, fans of the D12 song "Devil's Night" or those who "enjoyed" the events of that inspired the song ...
WHO WON'T LIKE THIS FILM: People who don't like: [1] Violence; [2] Murder; [3] Assault; [4] Class warfare; [5] Films that could go deeper into social examination/commentary but stop at a base level; [6] Guns; [7] Don't want to think about a world where an idea like this seems plausible
BOTTOM LINE – IS IT GOOD, GREAT, BAD OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? Good – with a catch.
WHAT'S GOOD (OR BAD) ABOUT IT?: As eluded to in the lines above, The Purge has some great things going for it (an inherently interesting premise, a decent cast, some unexpected twists) ... And then it has some other things that bog those down.
SIDE NOTE: Let me say this once and for all – if there are kids in your home during a thriller/drama/horror movie, they will seemingly instinctively do something they and/or you will regret and proceed to screw up the common sense you should exercise in said situation. Rant over.
The things that make The Purge compelling, however, are the ways in which writer/director James DeMonaco continually plays with the whole 'what would you do/what will the characters do?' premise. While there are a few things the characters do early feel a bit unrealistic if not silly by most common sense standards, DeMonaco redeems himself by then using those actions to get to a larger scale examination of the situation.
Ironically, the violence in turn doesn't feel gratuitous when it occurs inside the Sandin home and helps to bring about a climax to the all of the scenarios/questions being debated taking place. Thus, even when the film falters, it quickly picks itself up, dusts itself off and rampages forward to an end that while switching tone and mood thankfully doesn't derail the overall package.
And that's a very detailed way of saying The Purge delivers enough thrills and kills to make you want to see – and think about – how you might survive the night.
WHAT'S GOOD (OR BAD) ABOUT IT?: As eluded to in the lines above, The Purge has some great things going for it (an inherently interesting premise, a decent cast, some unexpected twists) ... And then it has some other things that bog those down.
SIDE NOTE: Let me say this once and for all – if there are kids in your home during a thriller/drama/horror movie, they will seemingly instinctively do something they and/or you will regret and proceed to screw up the common sense you should exercise in said situation. Rant over.
The things that make The Purge compelling, however, are the ways in which writer/director James DeMonaco continually plays with the whole 'what would you do/what will the characters do?' premise. While there are a few things the characters do early feel a bit unrealistic if not silly by most common sense standards, DeMonaco redeems himself by then using those actions to get to a larger scale examination of the situation.
Ironically, the violence in turn doesn't feel gratuitous when it occurs inside the Sandin home and helps to bring about a climax to the all of the scenarios/questions being debated taking place. Thus, even when the film falters, it quickly picks itself up, dusts itself off and rampages forward to an end that while switching tone and mood thankfully doesn't derail the overall package.
And that's a very detailed way of saying The Purge delivers enough thrills and kills to make you want to see – and think about – how you might survive the night.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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