It is a fact that there is something very satisfying
about a crime thriller. Most of us are upstanding law abiding citizens who use
movies like this to vicariously live a life beyond the law. When you look back
on the great films and television series of all time you have to mention such
faire as ‘The Godfather’ and ‘The Sopranos’. This is an unusual genre in many
respects. It can be great fun whether it is down seriously or for its camp
value. ‘Forfeit’ by Andrew Shea helps to return audiences to the classic crime
flicks of the forties. While set in modern times it has that undeniable look and
feel of those old gangster flicks that many of us grew up watching. There was
some modernization made for obvious reasons; there are more in the way of
expectations of the audience. Still, at its heart this could easily have been
one of those Jimmy Cagney movies we all love. Part of this is the subtle use of
elements straight out of a psychological thriller. Due in part to the changes in
what is acceptable to the audience this film can start out like an old school
flick and slowly turn far darker than would have been permissible way back when.
There is a touch of the macabre that makes this film better than many of its
contemporaries. It also includes elements of another popular sub set of the
crime flick the heist. All of the planning and potential for great reaches and
terrible betrayal are present. Like those movies of the past this one provides
the audience with a look at some of the darkest potential in the human mind. It
can infuse more in the way of actual violence but the core of the film is the
twisted minds of urges of the characters. The film was original shown on the
independent film festival circuit but just in case you missed it, as most of us
would, the DVD is released through MTI. It is well worth the watch.
The writer John Rafter Lee has been a working
character actor since he was a child. In more recent years he has branched out
to the scripting and the production side of the business. This is his second
time up for both. Lee’s previous film ‘Breathing Hard’ was about a struggling
writer who wins up drive a washed up actress; sort of ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ with
a little twist. He starred, produced and wrote that movie. There is something
about a character actor that provides potential for become a very good writer.
Acting in parts that such an actor is given affords them a wide selection of
humanity to experience. Many leading men get type cast as the hero or the
villain but the character actor has to do it all. Lee has taken this experience
and used it to the best possible advantage with his screenplay. The script is a
psychological portrait of an average man, Frank O'Neal (Billy Burke). As a teen
he killed his physically abusive father and fled his home in Los Angles. Now he
is in his thirties and felt it was safe to finally return to his home town.
Frank manages to get a job as a driver for an armored car company. He also
reconnects with an old girlfriend Karen (Sherry Stringfield). While Frank is
able to show the world a normal façade he is an intelligent sociopath bent on
revenge. He devises an elaborate plan to rob the company he works for and pin
the crime on Karen. Pushing him close to a psychotic break is a charismatic
television evangelical preacher (Gregory Itzin). Beside the obvious moral
dilemma a man like Frank would have with a religious man Lee adds another
dimension here. It seems that the Preacher knows exactly what Frank is thinking.
The director here, Andrew Shea has a short and a
couple of films already under his belt. He usually took on movies that were
comedies or dramas but makes the move to a crime thriller with style and flair.
He is not the type of director who is afraid to take on strange and difficult
projects. One of his previous films was a comedy about a man on death row while
another was concerned with a survivor of a cult mass suicide. Shea has been an
upcoming name in the festival world and for good reason; he has talent. He
provides the audience with a movie that works as a thriller. This is
accomplished by Shea’s ability to delve into the inner workings of his
character’s dark minds. Most heist flicks depend on the planning and execution
of crime to drive the action. Shea takes a different, less traveled road. He
almost uses the crime as a classic MacGuffin; important to the characters but
not the audience. This is a character driven movie that pulls you into the
twisted motivations of the principles.
As the opening credits are displayed against a black
screen the voice of an evangelizing preacher is heard. He quotes from scripture
and denounce those who claim there are inconsistencies in the Bible. He also
speaks of God in triumph over evil though his righteous human followers. This
sets the stage for the morality play that is about to unfold. We then see Frank
as he visits Karen in jail. She had thought he died many years ago and is
surprised to see him now. All he has to do is state he is alive and she will be
released but he tells her that he wants her to rot in jail. The film than moves
back four weeks in time where Karen is busy working at home transcribing tape of
some medical dictation. She is shocked when her doorbell rings and it is Frank.
Frank then goes off to work at the armored car company where he seems like a
nice, friendly employee. It turns out that the company is not too particular as
to the backgrounds of the men that they hire to drive. After a robbery Frank is
promoted to the outside man; the one who takes the to and from the destinations.
This is a job that exposes the person to the greatest amount of danger and none
of the other drivers want it. It does come with a fifty cent per hour raise
though. Franks begins to formulate his plot to rob the firm and use the crime to
seek his revenge against Karen. When he meets up with the Preacher it appears
that the holy man can see into his soul and the dark secrets that lurk there.
The cast is excellent here. Burke portrays Frank to
perfection. He is calm and determined with just the right undercurrent of
something being wrong. Most would take a psychotic character too far over the
top but Burke lets Frank simmer altering the expectations of the audience.
Stringfield is best known as a doctor on the long running TV series ‘ER’. Here
she demonstrates the range that she is capable of expressing. She makes Karen
into a tough woman who just wants to make it through life with as little drama
as possible. Overall the film is suspenseful and tautly done. Shea has delivered
an interesting piece of cinema here that should not be missed. As always MTI has
found something that most of us would never encounter and brings it to DVD.