Remarkable Power

Originally the plot of a movie was a simple affair. The story would follow the well established linear temporal construction of starting at the beginning and moving along steadily towards it conclusion. Some film makes decided to push the edge of the envelop devising numerous methods and techniques to break away from tradition. In some cases the results were brilliant. Robert Altman in films like ‘Nashville’ helped pioneer the use of a large ensemble cast with parallel story lines. P.T. Anderson furthers this format by colliding characters in tightly interwoven theme with his movies such as ‘Magnolia’. Then directs influenced by Quentin Tarantino tossed the natural flow of time to the winds jumping through the chronology like a frog. These men were giants in their fields with little to dispute their innovative genius. It is always a natural progression for other film makers to want to create their own work displaying the influence of those that came before. Since I come from a background of bio-medical research I tend to see this progression of methodology. I don’t view the newer directors of ripping off the originators or even paying homage to them. In a creative process such as cinema the natural progress is to incorporate such innovations into the mainstream. Most of the techniques mentioned are still somewhat experimental but they are garnering greater acceptance. One such experiment in the new playful outlook on character development and chronological flow is ‘Remarkable Power’ by Brandon Beckner while he is not yet able to attain the heights of the men who obviously influenced him this film is a reasonable try. There are several mistakes present throughout the piece but most can be attributed to being on the learning curve of his profession. At least there was a sense that all involved were committed to giving the audience something fresh and entertaining even if over all the movie has a ways to go.

This is the first time up as director and writer for Brandon Beckner but considering the degree of difficult inherent in this non-linear format he does comes across rather well. One thing on his resume that may have help was his gig editing a ‘Lost’ clip show for ABC. If there is any television series that requires acumen in non-linear time and odd characters it is ‘Lost’. The main thing about this movie is you cannot treat it as a casual watch; you have to really pay attention to what is going on, more so than usual. When you are able to achieve this level of concentration you will discover that just below the chaotic surface lays a tightly crafted story. Examples of this are demonstrated but the appearance o a little prop or casual line that later on becomes pivotal to the plot development. I admire the ability to make something appear as nonsense while actually manifesting a strong central narrative.

The main thread concerns Jack West (Kevin Nealon) who for over s dozen years has hosted a late night talk show on TV. Lately his ratings have been rapidly declining resulting in the networks proposal to cancel the show. He had tried alterning the form to highlight guests that not even Jerry Springer would book but it still looks likely the show is about to go away. Considering what is currently going on with the Late Night Wars over ay NBC the theme is extremely timely. West quickly becomes desperate to stay on the air so he manages to devise a farfetched scheme to do so. When discovers that his trophy wife Cynthia (Sandra Hess) is cheating on him he decides to fold a touch of retribution into the mix. The title of the film refers to a self help book that is a constant feature of late night infomercials with its author JP Zahn, played with delicious wickedness by Christopher Titus. Of course it is all a scam with one of the featured success stories play by an actor, Preston (Kip Pardue) making a break in his career as an adult film star. When a young man, Ross (Evan Peters) happens to see the commercial he falls for it hook, line and sinker. One day he spots Preston and follows him hoping for some additional insight to making this get rich quick ‘system’ work. At first Preston, out of boredom, plays along but soon it is very evident that Preston is just an actor posing as a success story. During an altercation Preston slips and falls impaling his head and dying. Ross panics but this is only the beginning of his problems as he is pulled into a drug deal gone bad with an observant Jewish drug lord, Moses (Jack Plotnick) and his two massive enforcers. Throw in a female porn star Candy (Whitney Able) and you have quite an interesting evening. As if this isn’t enough there is a private detective, Van Hagen (Tom Arnold), tailing Mrs. West. He winds up with an ad hoc partner with a stalker, the pretty and perky Athena (Nora Zehetner).

This is actually an excellent cast that each brings their ‘A’ games to the project. As mentioned it will take your undivided attention to follow some of the finer points of the story but ultimately is well worth it. Beckner does need to work on the balance required to keep all of the plates spinning but he definitely demonstrates amazing potential. If he chooses something this difficult for the start of his career he is on the verge of maturing into a writer and director to watch as he matures in his craft.

Posted 02/19/2010