Customer Reviews

Fierce People

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

From the opening scenes of FIERCE PEOPLE (an interplay of tribal customs as photographed by the anthropologist father of the young narrator Finn Earl, demonstrating why this South American tribe of Ishkanani is so fierce) the direction of the film is nebulous: are we watching a dark comedy about comparing life in the New York streets to uncivilized peoples, or is this a message film of a more serious intent? But as the story develops this fine line between entertainment and philosophical impact becomes increasingly clear. Griffin Dunne's direction of Dirk Wittenborn's adaptation of his novel may be a bit careless at times as it strays from rational plot development, but in the end there is a strong enough final impact to patch up the holes he created.

Our narrator Finn Earl (Anton Yelchin) lives with his coke-addicted masseuse/sexually obsessed mother Liz (Diane Lane) in New York, waiting for the summer when he is to join his anthropologist father on a field trip to South America (a father he knows only from letters and videos), when a drug bust abruptly changes their lives: one of Liz's wealthy clients Ogden Osborne (Donald Sutherland) rescues the down and out family and moves them to his ten acre estate, the epitome of wealth and power. In exchange for being Osborne's private masseuse, Liz and Finn can live in the mansion with the 'filthy rich' Osbornes - daughter Mrs. Langley (Elizabeth Perkins) and grandchildren Bryce (Chris Evans) and Maya (Kristen Stewart). Osborne and his physician lead Liz on the drying out path and Finn bonds with Osborne and his grandchildren, and despite the disparity in poor versus wealthy, the living situation works - for a while. Incidents occur to alter feelings and Finn is attacked and raped by a masked assailant, a turning point for the film and Finn's view of the Osborne family. Osborne reveals his past to Finn and together they manage to discover the truth about Finn's troubling incident - and also about the fierce disease of the wealthy class.

The film uses many clips of tribal activity during the film, drawing some disturbing parallels for some of the more challenging scenes. For this viewer that works well, but when the director elects to place tribal individuals in full regalia within the context of the Osborne estate, the concept feel contrived, as though the audience has to be forced to 'get it'. The various subplots between maid Jilly (Paz de la Huerta) and Finn and the introduction of an obese retarded chalk artist Whitney (Branden Williams) push the credibility edge of emphasizing the line between the wealthy and the 'lower class', but the performances by Sutherland, Lane, and Yelchin are strong enough to make us forgive the film's lapses. Not a great film but one with a lot of worthy ideas splashed around on the screen of a project that often feels lost in its struggle for direction. Grady Harp, February 08

Griffin Dunne was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short for "Duke of Groove" in 1995. Whether it's a screenplay that bounces like a ping-pong ball or the direction, the film seems to be trying to make the connection that even wealthy families have similarities to primitive civilizations. Brutality is an aspect of human nature would also sum up much of the film. The story seems quite unreal and nebulously defined as in the relationship of Donald Sutherland's Ogden C. Osbourne & Diane Lane. The plot is a cousin to the television series "Dirty Sexy Money" in which Sutherland also appeared as a wealthy patriarch.

Anton Yelchin who starred in Hearts in Atlantis with Anthony Hopkins and "Charlie Bartlett" is one of the best things about the film. His character Finn Earl seems like a teen who is always going to land on his feet and adapt to the many curves life throws at him. The violation of the boy is so charged that it makes what seemed like a romantic comedy suddenly dark and sinister. Chris Evans starred in Cellular (New Line Platinum Series), "The Fantastic Four" and this year in "Street Kings." His character seems warm and happy-go-lucky until we come to see the darker side. Evans never fully took me to the dark side or made me believe he was capable of the acts on which the film hinges. He was much better in the comic romantic aspect of the film. Diane Lane is so beautiful and natural as an actress, but again her casting as a boozy lush never really was believable. She never took us completely to the dark side. This is part of the major problem with the film, combining such disparate elements, but not convincingly.

Kristen Stewart who starred with Jodie Foster in Panic Room plays Maya, Osbourne's granddaughter. She comes across very well in the film as an iconoclast, unimpressed by her family's wealth. As Finn's summer romance, she seemed quite tender and sincere. Elizabeth Perkins from TV's "Weeds" puts in a good appearance as the wealthy daughter. The film is interesting. Donald Sutherland, Diane Lane, Anton Yelchin & Kristen Stewart's performances are worth the rental. Enjoy!

This movie makes you see how the poor people try to fit into a rich family. The movie draws you in and makes you want to watch more of it.

I quite liked this movie about a young boy and his drug addict mother who are befriended by one of the seven wealthiest men in the nation (Donald Sutherland). Finn (Anton Yelchin, a wonderful actor who I've loved in everything that I've ever seen him in, starting with Huff and moving on to House of D) and his mother, played by Diane Lane, leave the jungle of New York to go to the seeming tranquility of a massive palatial estate in New Jersey for the summer.

Initially, Finn is disappointed because he had wanted to spend the summer with his elusive father, an anthropologist studying tribal behavior in South America, whom Finn has never met. But he soon warms to the scenery when he meets young Maya, the granddaughter of the multi billionaire patriarch.

Basically, the movie draws a parallel between the tribe that Finn's father has studied and the actions of the rich and callous. In polite society, it's hard for Finn to know who his friends really are, and one person is as vicious and savage as one could possibly imagine.

It's some of those particularly brutal scenes that I found implausible based on the simple story of poor boy meets rich girl. However, the acting by Sutherland and Yelchin is great and I liked the movie altogether, although it was a bit disjointed, hard to follow at times and the ending was predictable.

It is easy not to like "Fierce People". For starters, it doesn't know what it wants to be. The first 3/5 are some sort of a "Coming of Age story meets Robert Altman" kind of deal, and then it gets dark, really dark, and turns into a very dark Coming of Age story. The movie is unsure which one it really wishes to be, and none of those themes are fully realized.

And yet the five stars, yes. There are two reasons for this.

The first one is that "Fierce People" doesn't deserve a three-star rating. It deserves at least four.

The second are the leading cast. Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland are superb, even if they don't really have much to play. Anton Yelchin is the true star of the movie and - just like anything else he's been in - he does a wonderful job. His character Finn is smart and naive, lively and contemplative, and also sort of dense. That is, until he is forced to grow up fast and deal with a trauma that could haunt him for life if he lets it. Yelchin has some really tough dramatic moments to pull through, and he is brilliant in them.

There is a certain subtlety in the movie. You can't really say it tries to *tell* you anything, but it is not empty either. This is where the "Robert Altman" part kicks in, and even if "Fierce People" is not on this level, it still manages to speak without saying things outright. It has its flaws, and this lack of clarity is a deffinite one in the end, but it's far from stupid. Like I said at the beginning, the movie is unsure of what it is trying to be, but what it ends up being, is good enough, and the acting is amazing.

If that is enough for you, go ahead.

Oh, and the cover is ridiculous. It makes "Fierce People" look like a romantic comedy. It's not. It's anything but romantic comedy.

Every now and then, I come across a movie that I must watch at least twice before I can determine where I stand with it. This is one of those films.

I will be honest with you...I didn't think I liked it at first. The movie in its entirety isn't exactly my cup of tea. But for me, it's really about the moments and relationships within the story that make it or break it.

I do pay attention to detail, but in order for me to really feel the personality of a film, I rediscover it a few times. Upon viewing it a second time, I grew quite fond of Kristen Stewart's character. There is a realness and attractiveness about her that I find intriguing.

Although I may not be too engrossed in the overall story of the film, I find myself still watching in hopes of seeing her again. I might go so far as to say that if it weren't for her character and her impact on the film, I would not be interested in this movie.

This movie is not for everybody, no. But I thought the actors, the acting, the plot, the direction; I thought it was all very good, and I very much loved this movie. It's definitely worth the watch, if you have the time.

I saw this movie mainly for Chris Evans, who is shocking as the bad guy that you wouldn't expect. But also it provides great insight into the lives of natives in another land and how we can feel the same way when we enter an environment different form our own. I recommend it if you want to lose yourself in a rather small movie with a big message.

This film fails to live up to its potential. In the beginning, you see a vivid portrait of a life unravelling in addiction and emotional neglect. The son, Finn, was planing to work with his father (whose only contact with him is through the films he made) in the Amazon rain forest, with the "fierce people" of the title. Unfortunately, while scoring coke for his mom, he is busted and cannot go. This is a shock to his mother, who decides to turn her life around and become a better mother.

They wind up, improbably, in the massive estate of Osborne, many of whose children and grandchildren have the run of his 10-mile square New Jersey estate. Beyond the mother's sobering up and quitting coke, played wonderfully by Lane, there are some very interesting subplots: Finn develops a wonderfully believable relationship with Osborne, who mentors him in some vital life lessons. Sutherland was never better, as a quirky and warm man who cares and yet is also very tough. Ruler of the roost, he hopes to create a better world somehow, in his private kingdom. Finn also studies his father's films, which provide a wonderful sub-narrative to his observations of the huge family culture he is observing. Finally, he mingles with the locals and to a degree is accepted by them, though remains fully aware that he can never be one of them.

Unfortunately, the film unravels with Finn's relationships with Osborne's grandchildren. He finds a beautiful, sensitive girl of course, and their path is ridiculously predictable, if occasionally poignant. While Kristen Stewart succeeds in evoking some of the psychological trouble that underlies her character, the character is essentially a cute stick figure. Finn also becomes friends with the outgoing though mysterious grandson, whose evolution is also a bit far fetched and laughably melodramatic. Then the plot thickens in a ruinous direction, which I do not want to spoil for others, and ends sentimentally if tragically. If the film had ended 2/3 of the way through, it would easily have gotten 5 stars.

Recommended with these caveats. The acting in my viewing is far better than average, but the script in the end is weak.

This film surprised me. This film shocked me. This film made me mad and sad and angry! I own this movie and have watched it a number of times with different friends. The reaction is always intense, one way or the other.